State Sen. Emil Jones III to resume testifying in own defense

Democratic state Sen. Emil Jones III will resume testifying in his own defense Wednesday as his trial on bribery charges nears an end.

Jones, 46, took the stand late in the day, and his lawyer, Victor Henderson, had only scratched the surface of the evidence before the judge recessed the trial for the day. He’s expected to get into the heart of the case when he returns to the stand Wednesday, including what promises to be a tough cross-examination by prosecutors.

Jones is charged with bribery, use of an interstate facility to solicit bribery and lying to federal agents. The most serious charge carries up to 10 years in prison, while the others have a five-year maximum term.

According to the charges, Jones agreed to accept $5,000 in campaign funding from a red-light camera company executive, Omar Maani, in exchange for Jones’ help with legislation in Springfield. Jones also asked Maani to give his former office intern a part-time job, which led to $1,800 being paid to the intern in exchange for no work. the charges alleged.

Jones is the first sitting member of the state General Assembly to face trial at the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse since then-state Rep. Derrick Smith was found guilty of bribery nearly a decade ago. If convicted, Jones would be forced to resign under Illinois law and would almost certainly forfeit any future pension.

Unlike Smith, who did not testify, Jones is staking his political future and perhaps his freedom on whether the jury believes him.

His decision also adds the risk of enhancing any sentence he receives if found guilty, since prosecutors could use his own words against him to argue he perjured himself on the stand.

But Jones is the only one who can put a different spin on statements he made on undercover recordings at the heart of the case. Jones is also expected to try to lay a significant amount of blame at the feet of his former colleague, then-state Sen. Martin Sandoval, who was caught up in the same overall probe.

Before Jones took the stand Tuesday, prosecutors rested their case in chief after presenting five witnesses, most notably Maani, who was working undercover for the FBI and made a series of video recordings of meetings with Sandoval and Jones that are at the heart of the case.

Jones will likely be the last witness the jury hears from. Closing arguments in the case are likely to begin Thursday.

jmeisner@chicagotribune.com