Former Ald. Daniel Solis’ testimony about his extraordinary turn as an FBI mole will continue for an abbreviated fourth day Wednesday before the corruption trial of ex-House Speaker Michael Madigan takes an extended Thanksgiving break.
Soils, the longtime 25th Ward alderman and Zoning Committee chairman, has been on the witness stand since last week, giving jurors a fascinating front seat to one of the biggest public corruption cases in Chicago’s sordid history.
U.S. District Judge John Robert Blakey said he’ll cut testimony off at noon Wednesday so jurors can get a jump start on their holiday plans. The trial, which began Oct. 8, will resume Monday and is expected to last until mid-January.
Solis’ testimony Tuesday focused on a string of undercover recordings he made as an FBI cooperator that appeared to show Madigan was more than willing to use his influence to help out Solis, who at the time had been facilitating meetings between Madigan and developers in Solis’ booming ward.
The videos, taking during meetings at Madigan’s downtown law office, showed that as their relationship continued to expand through 2018, Madigan started asking Solis for additional favors, including helping his son, insurance broker Andrew Madigan, get a face-to-face with a nonprofit operation that had previously blown him off.
At one point, prosecutors paused the video where Madigan held up his son’s Alliant-Mesirow business card, and said his son just needed an opportunity. “Give him a chance to show what he can do…get his foot in the door,” Madigan said.
Solis later called the speaker to let him know he’d arranged for a meeting between Andrew Madigan and the Resurrection Project, as he was asked.
Madigan, 82, of Chicago, who served for decades as speaker of the Illinois House before stepping down in 2021, faces racketeering charges alleging he ran his state and political operations like a criminal enterprise.
He is charged alongside Michael McClain, 77, a former ComEd contract lobbyist from downstate Quincy, who for years was one of Madigan’s closest confidants. Both men have pleaded not guilty and denied wrongdoing.
Solis’ highly anticipated testimony has provided It’s the culmination of a saga that began nearly eight and a half years ago, when FBI agents confronted Solis at his home in June 2016 and showed him evidence they’d gathered of his own misdeeds.
Solis’ testimony Tuesday focused on Madigan’s alleged attempts to win business for his law firm from developers who had mega-projects going in Solis’ ward.
“I’ll continue to get you legal business,” Solis told Madigan on one video played for jurors. “I’ve got all kinds of stuff happening in the South Loop and in the West Loop.”
Solis then dropped even bigger bait, telling Madigan he could introduce him to Harry Skydell, the New York-based developer of the massive $300 million Old Post Office renovation whom Madigan’s counterpart, Ald. Edward Burke, had also pursued for legal work.
By the time Solis offered to introduce Madigan to Skydell, he had just gone through months of undercover work against Burke involving dozens of phone calls and meetings over Skydell’s post office renovation project.
In fact, the most infamous line from Burke’s own trial, where Burke asked Solis “Did we land the tuna?” had occurred more than a year before Solis’ conversations with Madigan.
Burke, the city’s longest-serving alderman and powerful chairman of the Finance Committee, was convicted last year and is serving a two-year prison term.
jmeisner@chicagotribune.com
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