Former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan’s relationship with Michael McClain was perhaps best described by McClain himself, who wrote a personal note to the speaker when he retired from lobbying in 2016, saying he’d still be at the ready for special “assignments” whenever Madigan beckoned.
“I am at the bridge with my musket standing with and for the Madigan family,” McClain wrote at the time — a message that became a focus of McClain’s corruption trial last year.
Now, after a yearslong federal investigation and a series of high-profile indictments, it appears that bond is being strained perhaps to its breaking point.
In a motion filed Friday evening, attorneys for McClain asked that he be severed in his upcoming racketeering trial with Madigan, revealing for the first time that Madigan’s legal team may be planning to throw McClain under the bus.
The 11-page motion said McClain’s right to a fair trial was in peril due to a theory of Madigan’s defense that would essentially make them “second prosecutors,” putting McClain in the position of having to defend himself not only from government accusations but his co-defendant too.
The motion completely redacted the discussion of what Madigan’s alleged legal theories are, but it said the speaker’s high-powered legal team would be able to present it without the the same legal restraints that prosecutors have when putting on evidence, including allegations of “other crimes, wrongs, or bad acts” committed by McClain.
“Therefore, Mr. McClain will be in effect prosecuted by ambush by a team of prosecutors who will be able to spring otherwise undisclosed testimony, witnesses, and exhibits against him throughout the trial,” the motion stated.
The motion also alleged Madigan’s lawyers could be in a position to “surprise” McClain, especially if he testifies in his own defense.
Winning severance at this point is likely a long shot given the nature of the allegations and the length and complexity of the trial, which is set to begin in October and will last at least two months. The U.S. attorney’s office will almost certainly object, and U.S. District Judge John Robert Blakey has already expressed a firm desire to see the trial kick off on time.
But regardless of its success, the admission that the Madigan-McClain bond could be broken by the trial is a major flashpoint for Springfield insiders to ponder.
It not only reinforces the Madigan image as a politician who always plays to win, but it is a recognition that McClain and Madigan both understand that the ex-speaker’s best shot at beating the charges would be to paint McClain as a rouge actor who was operating without the speaker’s knowledge.
Madigan, 82, and McClain, 76, are scheduled to go on trial Oct. 8 on racketeering charges alleging Madigan’s vaunted state and political operations were run like a criminal enterprise while utility giants Commonwealth Edison and AT&T Illinois put his cronies on contracts requiring little or no work.
ComEd allegedly also heaped legal work onto a Madigan ally, granted his request to put a political associate on the state-regulated utility’s board and distributed bundles of summer internships to college students living in his Southwest Side legislative district, according to the charges.
The indictment also alleged Madigan and McClain schemed to sell off a piece of state-owned land in Chinatown to pressure the developers of a hotel to hire Madigan’s private law firm to do tax appeals.
Both Madigan and McClain have denied wrongdoing.
The long-term relationship between Madigan and McClain dates back to their days as young lawmakers in the 1970s. Madigan, who first served as House minority leader in 1981 and 1982, put McClain on his Democratic leadership team.
McClain lost his House seat in the 1982 election, missing the opportunity to be part of Madigan’s leadership team as Democrats won the majority that year and began the speaker’s record reign that started in1983. McClain went on to become a lobbyist and picked up several major clients, including ComEd, and became a powerbroker in Springfield largely because of his close relationship with Madigan.
McClain often would sit on a special padded bench and give advice to other Madigan acolytes gathering just outside the speaker’s third-floor office in the Capitol Rotunda and just steps away from the main doors to the Illinois House chambers, where Madigan ruled as speaker for an American record 36 years.
McClain also often camped out in a small conference room in between the Capitol offices of Madigan and Tim Mapes, whom Madigan ousted in a sexual harassment scandal. Mapes went to prison this year on a 30-month sentence for lying to a federal grand jury about his knowledge of the Madigan-McClain relationship. Mapes lied despite being given immunity to tell the truth.
The Tribune first reported that McClain was under investigation in 2019 during the first legislative session under Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker. Later that year, the Tribune later revealed the FBI had tapped McClain’s telephone calls and that federal authorities were asking associates questions specifically about Madigan and McClain and the overall intersection of politics, lobbying and government in Springfield.
In November 2020, McClain was indicted in the high-profile “ComEd Four” bribery case alleging he and three other ComEd executives and lobbyists conspired to bribe Madigan by funneling hundreds of thousands of dollars in payments to some of his most loyal political workers.
McClain’s closeness to Madigan was a key focus in the ComEd Four trial last year, where prosecutors sought to prove the nexus between the speaker’s office and the benefits ComEd expected to win from the legislature while Madigan was speaker.
In addition to McClain’s “at the bridge” email, jurors heard evidence that McClain often spoke to others about Madigan using a fond nickname: “Himself,” a reflection of their Irish roots and a term referencing the big man of a family’s house, or in this case, the Illinois House.
They’d meet for dinner in Springfield during legislative session nights, and they’d meet in Chicago when McClain would come to town, according to evidence in the ComEd Four trial, which included dozens of FBI wiretapped calls.
When the FBI raided McClain’s home in May 2019, they found a now-infamous “Magic Lobbyist List,” a set of names scribbled on a hotel notepad that showed Madigan’s favored lobbyists–particularly former Springfield staffers and ex-lawmakers who gave up public positions to peddle influence for bigger paychecks.
jmeisner@chicagotribune.com
