Illinois government

Indicted

• 41-count federal indictment in August 2019 alleged Cullerton pocketed around $275,000 in salary and health benefits from the Teamsters for a do-nothing job. Pleaded not guilty.
• Disclosure of his charges came soon after Teamsters chief John Coli pleaded guilty to extortion charges
• Distant cousin of Senate President John Cullerton
• Following the indictment, Senate President Cullerton removed Tom as chairman of the Senate Labor Committee and named him chairman of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee

• Pleaded guilty in January 2020 to bribery and tax fraud. Sandoval is cooperating with federal authorities and faces up to 13 years in prison.
• Took $250,000 in bribes from controversial red-light camera company believed to be SafeSpeed LLC and other “participants,” according to his plea agreement
• In September 2019, the FBI and IRS raided Sandoval’s home as well as his government offices in Springfield and Cicero
• Former chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee, key driver of Pritzker’s infrastructure plan and gas tax hike
• Senate district overlaps with House Speaker Mike Madigan’s House district
• Sandoval warrant shows federal agents seeking documents related to: Red-light camera company SafeSpeed, Cook County Commissioner Jeff Tobolski, asphalt boss Michael Vondra, at least four Commonwealth Edison or Exelon executives, Ceasar Santoy and his architectural firm Studio Arq., Gold Rush Gaming and its CEO Rick Heidner, and five unnamed Illinois Department of Transportation employees
• Subpoena served to ComEd in September asked about the company’s communications with Sandoval, according to the Chicago Tribune
• Resigned from office effective Jan. 1, 2020

• Arrested on one count of bribery of a state official in October 2019
• Allegedly bribed a state senator in August in exchange for support of gambling-related legislation, which he also worked on as a registered city of Chicago lobbyist. Resigned from the Illinois House of Representatives following arrest.
• Prosecutors Nov. 13 requested a 60-day extension to indict Arroyo
• Former House Assistant Majority Leader and chairman of the Appropriations-Capital committee, which was key to passing Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s $45 billion infrastructure plan and gas tax hike. Thanked Pritzker for the capital bill in resignation letter.
• Son, Luis Arroyo Jr., is a Democratic Cook County Commissioner
• 36th Ward committeeman for the Cook County Democratic Party

• Indicted in August 2020 on tax evasion charges via criminal information, which indicates he is likely to plead guilty.
• Senate Assistant Majority Leader; member of the Legislative Ethics Commission
• In 2019, Link was identified as the state senator who wore a wire for the FBI and captured former state Rep. Luis Arroyo offering him a bribe. It is believed Link agreed to wear the wire in exchange for a lighter sentence on his own pending charges.

Under investigation

Gov. J.B. Pritzker

• Pritzker, his wife and brother-in-law are the subject of a federal criminal investigation arising from property tax breaks on a Pritzker mansion in Chicago’s Gold Coast neighborhood, according to an April report from WBEZ.
• A 2018 Cook County Inspector General investigation found now-Illinois First Lady M.K. Pritzker directed workers to remove toilets from the mansion in order to declare it uninhabitable, which resulted in more than $331,000 in property tax breaks. The report called this a “scheme to defraud” taxpayers and Pritzker pledged to repay the money.

House Speaker Mike Madigan

• A grand jury subpoena served in July 2020 to Madigan’s office shows broad federal interest in the speaker’s interactions and relationships.
• The subpoena includes 12 requests for documents regarding Madigan’s communications with politicians, friends and large corporations. The list of requests makes it clear investigators are interested in more than just his relationship with Commonwealth Edison and are looking for other instances in which the speaker used his power to help and influence others.
• Investigators are seeking documents about hiring and lobbying communications with ComEd, AT&T, Rush University Medical Center and Deerfield-based Walgreens
• The subpoena also requests records for a slew of individuals who have strong relationships with Madigan, including former Chicago Ald. Michael Zalewski,  former Chicago alderman and ComEd lobbyist Frank Olivo, Madigan confidant and longtime ComEd lobbyist Mike McClain, former Democratic state Rep. Eddie Acevedo, former Madigan political worker Kevin Quinn, former Chicago Ald. Danny Solis, and former state Sen. Martin Sandoval

Other

• Berwyn alderman and Pritzker’s appointee to the Illinois Tollway Board. Resigned from Tollway Board in October 2019 following release of unredacted Sandoval warrant, which showed authorities sought information on Santoy and his architecture firm. Pritzker also withdrew his nomination.
• Santoy’s attorney said officials told Santoy neither he nor his company are a target of the investigation
• Voted for contracts with red-light company SafeSpeed in Berwyn. According to Illinois Policy Institute analysis, Berwyn has generated $19.2 million from red-light cameras since 2009, the highest lifetime total of any municipality outside Chicago.

Chicago government

Convicted

• Sentenced to one year in prison on one count of felony wire fraud in June 2019
• Admitted to stealing $14,000 from a charity he created for needy children and seniors in his South Side ward. Used the stolen funds to pay for fancy dinners, Mercedes-Benz accessories, his daughter’s college tuition and a gambling habit.
• Cochran is the 34th Chicago alderman convicted on corruption charges since 1972, and the third of the last four 20th Ward aldermen to be indicted while holding office

Indicted

• Indicted on 14-count corruption charge in May 2019, including allegations that he tried to steer business to his property tax law firm by strong-arming the owner of a Burger King franchise in his ward. Pleaded not guilty.
• Longest-serving alderman in Chicago history (1969-) and the most powerful member of Chicago City Council prior to the most recent federal investigation.
• Former Chicago Finance Committee Chairman (1983-2019) and former chairman of the influential judicial slating subcommittee of the Cook County Democratic Party.
• 14th Ward committeeman for the Cook County Democratic Party
• Longtime partner in one of the most lucrative property-tax appeals firms in Chicago, Klafter & Burke. Stepped down earlier this year.
• Wife Anne Burke became chief justice of the Illinois Supreme Court in 2019, despite a WBEZ report identifying at least 10 instances in which she decided on cases involving parties who at the time were clients of Klafter & Burke.

Burke political boss Peter Andrews

• Top political lieutenant for Burke’s 14th Ward office, charged in Burke indictment for allegedly aiding in shakedown of Burger King franchise owner. Pleaded not guilty.

Former Chicago Department of Aviation Deputy Commissioner Bill Helm

• Helm was charged with one count of bribery in March 2020 in connection with a northwest suburban road project
• Authorities questioned Helm and seized his phone in September 2019. Helm was named in search warrants and subpoenas served to state Sen. Martin Sandoval and a number of suburban local governments.
• Helm moonlighted as a consultant for red-light camera company SafeSpeed LLC while earning $125,000 a year at the city of Chicago’s aviation department, a job he quit in August 2019
• Received a cut of every ticket charged from red-light cameras in Matteson and Glendale Heights, according to the Chicago Sun-Times
• Matteson has charged motorists more than $5.6 million in red-light camera tickets from five cameras since 2016, according to Illinois Policy Institute research
• Helm played a key role in a separate bribery scheme involving a plumbing company seeking business at O’Hare Airport, according to a report filed by Chicago’s inspector general in December 2019

Raided

• Federal agents raided her 34th Ward office in June 2019; investigation includes her purchase of a West Pullman home
• Second-longest serving sitting alderman, behind Burke
• Vice chairwoman of the Cook County Democratic Party, sitting 34th Ward committeewoman
• Mayor Lori Lightfoot in 2019 ended Austin’s 12-year tenure as head of the Chicago City Council Budget Committee
• Vocal defender of patronage hiring
• The Cook County Land Bank Authority in 2017 signed off on a property tax delinquency deal benefitting Austin chief of staff Chester Wilson Jr. That deal involved Boris Nitchoff, who was named in the Austin search warrant. The Chicago Sun-Times in November found Nitchoff and his family have been operating a large-scale property tax delinquency scheme in which they would buy back their own property tax debts for a fraction what they owed.

Cooperating with federal authorities

• Announced in November 2018 he would not seek re-election. In January, news broke that he had been wearing a wire in conversations with Burke, which led to Burke’s indictment.
• Was the fourth-longest serving sitting Chicago alderman (1996-2019). Originally appointed to his seat in 1996 by Mayor Richard M. Daley to replace Ald. Ambrosio Medrano, who was convicted on bribery charges
• Former chairman of the influential City Council Zoning Committee (2009-2019)
• According to a federal court affadavit, Solis received sex acts, Viagra, free weekend use of a farm once owned by Oprah Winfrey and campaign contributions in exchange for City Council actions
• The FBI secretly recorded a meeting between Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan and a hotel developer who had been directed to Madigan’s law firm by Solis

Other local government

Indicted

• Pleaded guilty in September 2020 to extortion and tax fraud
• According to his plea agreement, Tobolski received $29,700 in cash by conspiring with a local police official to shake down a restaurant owner in need of a liquor license – Tobolski doubled as McCook’s liquor commissioner at the time
• The agreement also says Tobolski collected at least $250,000 from bribery or extortion schemes involving at least four other people
• Federal investigators swept through the Cook County suburbs of McCook, Lyons, Summit and Crestwood in the same week in September 2019, days after authorities raided the Springfield and Cicero offices of state Sen. Martin Sandoval
• Agents raided Tobolski’s office space as part of the investigation, taking Tobolski’s computer hard drives and documents related to at least two contractors at the McCook Athletic & Exposition Center also known as “The Max.” Investigators also asked for items related to Gold Rush Gaming, which has video gambling devices in the restaurant at the Max, Alta Grill.
• Tobolski submitted his resignation letter to County Board President Toni Preckwinkle on March 6, 2020, stating he would leave office on March 31. He also resigned March 6 as mayor of suburban McCook, also effective on March 31.
• Tobolski family members dominate the small village of roughly 200 residents, which is mostly industrial land. In 2009, the Chicago Sun-Times found 19 family members employed across McCook village government, the local library and park districts, and the Max.
• Tobolski Chief of Staff Patrick Doherty was on contract as a paid “sales consultant” with red-light camera company SafeSpeed

• Charged in August 2020 with three counts of bribery and official misconduct, three counts of tax fraud and one count of lying to the FBI and IRS. Presta pleaded not guilty.
• Federal prosecutors allege Presta lied about accepting a $5,000 cash bribe from a representative of red-light camera company SafeSpeed LLC
• Authorities subpoenaed the village of Crestwood in September for information related to $27,000 worth of expense reimbursements for Presta
• Mileage reimbursements show he frequently reported traveling to McCook, including for meetings with Lyons Mayor Chris Getty, as well as “Mr. Madigan.” Madigan denies he met with Presta.
• Crestwood is facing a class action lawsuit regarding its use of red-light cameras, which are among the most lucrative in the state. Lawyers have sought information on whether Worth Township hired family members of Crestwood officials, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.

Patrick Doherty, chief of staff for Cook County Commissioner Jeff Tobolski

• Indicted on three counts of bribery and conspiracy to commit bribery. Allegedly attempted to pay $4,000 in bribes to a relative of a village trustee in Oak Lawn in exchange for help getting red-light cameras devices installed in the suburb. Doherty doubled as a sales agent for red-light camera vendor SafeSpeed LLC, which had a contract with Oak Lawn about to expire.

• Indicted on one count of official misconduct in October 2019. Allegedly made illegal payments of nearly $200,000 to a Washington, D.C.-based lobbying firm between January 2016 and March 2017.
• Retired in 2018 as one of the highest-paid officials in Illinois, earning nearly $250,000 in total compensation

Raided

• Federal agents visited Lyons village hall as well as Getty’s insurance company, Getty Insurance, in September 2019
• Getty was elected in 2009. The same office was once held by his father, who in 1998 was convicted on 21 counts of mail fraud and money laundering. Since being elected, Chris Getty has hired family members to multiple village positions and increased his salary from $10,000 to $70,000 a year, according to a Better Government Association investigation.

Subpoenaed

Former Cook County Assessor Joe Berrios

• A federal grand jury in December 2019 subpoenaed Berrios and several of his former employees in the assessor’s office, according to the Chicago Sun-Times
• Former state representative and former chairman of the Cook County Democratic Party
• Subpoena demanded information regarding contributions to Berrios’ retirement party; documents related to his 31st Ward Democratic Organization, the Friends of Berrios campaign fund, and the Mexican American Political Action Committee; and items “related to any official action taken in exchange for a benefit.” Among those official actions are “assessor recommendations, certificates of correction, certificates of error, property valuations and re-reviews.”
• Investigative reporting from the Chicago Tribune and ProPublica Illinois found the Cook County property tax system headed by Berrios disproportionately harmed lower-income residents, due in part to the appeals process. One of the biggest beneficiaries of that system was Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan.
• From 2011 to 2016, Madigan’s law firm, Madigan & Getzendanner, appealed property taxes for more than 4,200 parcels totaling more than $8.6 billion in assessed value, according to the Tribune. No other firm handled more value in commercial and industrial properties over that time.

• A July 2019 subpoena to Schiller Park focused on the village’s $5,000-per-month lobbying contract with former Chicago Ald. Michael Zalewski.
• When asked if Madigan recommended the village hire Zalewski, Mayor Nick Caiafa replied, “The Village was not asked or directed by any party to hire Z Consulting,” according to the Better Government Association.

• Briefly served as a Democratic state lawmaker when appointed to a House of Representatives vacancy in 2010; has held numerous Cook County jobs, including with Stroger Hospital, the Cook County Forest Preserve and former Cook County Commissioner Ed Moody
• Subpoenaed by federal authorities investigating SafeSpeed LLC, where O’Sullivan worked as a sales consultant pitching the red-light camera operator to local governments
• Separately subpoenaed and deposed as part of a class action lawsuit against the village of Crestwood regarding its red-light camera program, which the Illinois Policy Institute found to be among the most lucrative in the state

Questioned

• Federal agents contacted Ryan in September 2019 to ask about SafeSpeed, which village officials hired for red-light camera services
• Declined to say whether agents asked about the village’s ties with Alliant/Mesirow, where House Speaker Mike Madigan’s son, Andrew Madigan, works to secure local government insurance contracts

• An FBI spokesperson described the McCook and Lyons raids as “authorized law enforcement activity,” which the agency distinguished from “investigative activity” conducted in Summit.
• The Chicago Sun-Times reported federal authorities questioned Summit Mayor Sergio Rodriguez in September about red-light camera company SafeSpeed, among other topics.

Businesses, unions and other political figures

Indicted

• In July 2019, Coli pleaded guilty to federal charges in an extortion case involving $325,000 in cash he got from Cinespace Chicago Film Studios, a large, state-backed film production facility on Chicago’s West Side
• Prominent ally of House Speaker Mike Madigan, former Mayor Richard M. Daley, former Mayor Rahm Emanuel and ex-Gov. Pat Quinn

Lake Forest real estate developer Charles Cui

• Indicted in April 2019 for allegedly bribing Chicago Ald. Ed Burke in exchange for assistance with city permitting. Pleaded not guilty.
• Charged with one count of federal program bribery, one count of making a false statement to the FBI, and two counts of interstate commerce to facilitate bribery

• Entered a deferred prosecution agreement with federal authorities to resolve a bribery conspiracy charge
• Agreement says Maani provided “campaign contributions, meals, money, and sporting-event tickets” to public officials in order to influence those officials’ public actions in favor of SafeSpeed, a red-light camera company
• Federal agents questioned Tobolski chief of staff Patrick Doherty and Summit Mayor Sergio Rodriguez in September about Presidio Capital, a company run by Maani that has been involved in low-income housing projects in Cicero and Summit

• Charged in October 2020 as part of the federal bribery case filed in 2019 against former state Rep. Luis Arroyo
• Indictment alleges Arroyo offered to have Weiss pay Illinois state Sen. Terry Link in exchange for Link promoting sweepstakes legislation, and that Weiss mailed a $2,500 bribe to Link in October 2019
• The FBI raided Weiss’ office in November 2019
• Runs a valet company that failed to ensure sex offenders weren’t working on CPS property, and is being sued by the Teamsters pension fund. Weiss is also involved in the sweepstakes machine industry.
• Ran the Alliance of Illinois Taxpayers, a PAC that has raised $630,000 over the last seven years, largely from personal injury law firms and other figures with close ties to Madigan’s political organization
• Close friend of Madigan’s only son, Andrew, according to the Chicago Sun-Times
• Son-in-law of Democratic boss, former Cook County Assessor and longtime video gaming lobbyist Joe Berrios; married to former state Rep. Toni Berrios; grandson of former Richard M. Daley ally Edward Murray
• Business associate of disgraced former cop John Adreani, who runs V.S.S. Inc., which paid state Rep. Luis Arroyo to lobby on behalf of gaming interests at Chicago City Hall

Raided

• Federal authorities in mid-May raided McClain’s home in Quincy, Illinois
• McClain’s phone calls with Madigan were recorded via an FBI wiretap as part of an investigation into ComEd’s lobbying activity, according to the Chicago Tribune
• More than any other political figure, McClain is known to have Madigan’s ear. Served as assistant minority leader under Madigan from 1981 to 1983 and had a decadeslong Springfield lobbying career.
• McClain “retired” from lobbying in 2016,  after helping to pass an Exelon power plant bailout that raised rates on ComEd customers by between 25 cents and $4.54 a month.
• After his retirement from lobbying, ComEd paid McClain $361,000 for “political consulting” services from 2017 to 2018. A spokesman for the utility refused to offer any details about the nature of those services to reporters from WBEZ and the Better Government Association.
• Pritzker called for an investigation into a 2012 email from McClain in which McClain leveraged a state worker’s silence on a Champaign rape and ghost payrolling to seek leniency in the worker’s disciplinary hearing.

• The Zalewski raid in May was part of a probe into “efforts to get work for Zalewski” at ComEd, as well as “interactions” between Zalewski, Madigan and McClain, according to the Better Government Association and WBEZ
• Zawleski’s 23rd Ward, where he was alderman for 20 years and still serves as the ward committeeman for the Cook County Democratic Party, overlaps with Madigan’s 22nd House district.
• Gov. J.B. Pritzker appointed Zalewski’s daughter-in-law, Carrie Zalewski, to be chairwoman of the Illinois Commerce Commission, which regulates energy utilities such as ComEd
• When Zalewski retired a year before the end of his term, then-Mayor Rahm Emanuel appointed then-state Rep. Silvana Tabares to replace him in Chicago City Council. Tabares is a Madigan ally.

• Federal agents raided Quinn’s home in May
• Fired from Madigan’s political operation in 2018 following sexual harassment allegations
• Authorities are investigating $10,000 in payments to Quinn, after he was fired, from accounts linked to five current or former lobbyists for ComEd, including McClain
• Brother of 13th Ward Ald. Marty Quinn (Madigan’s ward)
• Was deposed as part of a lawsuit alleging Madigan recruited two “sham candidates” to siphon Hispanic votes away from the speaker’s 2016 Democratic primary challenger, Jason Gonzales. In that deposition, Quinn admitted to attempting to recruit one of those candidates.

• Federal grand jury subpoena requested City Club of Chicago correspondence with between 10 and 20 individuals, including Madigan; raided Doherty’s office. A source told WBEZ that investigators were looking for evidence related to ComEd.
• ComEd paid Jay D. Doherty and Associates more than $3.1 million between 2011 and 2018, according to WBEZ
• Doherty resigned from his post as City Club president in December
• A source close to the ComEd probe told Crain’s Chicago Business that Doherty served as a conduit for ComEd money that flowed to more than 100 people, some of whom did little work

• Federal agents visited the sand and gravel company owned by Vondra, who is known as Illinois’ “asphalt king,” in September
• Companies connected to Vondra have made numerous campaign contributions to Sandoval, Tobolski and Getty

Cooperating with federal authorities

• President of Chicago’s largest movie studio, which was founded with more than $27 million in state grants
• Pissios was bankrupt and still held around $1 million in debt when federal authorities approached him to work as a mole to take down Teamsters boss John Coli. That debt has since disappeared, and he was granted a non-prosecution agreement.
• Tens of millions of dollars of state film tax credits have flowed to productions at Cinespace, including Chicago Fire and Chicago P.D. The film tax credit program has never been audited.

Subpoenaed 

• Authorities are investigating whether SafeSpeed landed local contracts to operate red-light cameras through illegal payoffs, according to the Chicago Sun-Times
• The Illinois Policy Institute confirmed the following municipalities contracted with SafeSpeed to operate red-light cameras as of 2018: Summit, Matteson, Chicago Heights, Berwyn, Lakemoor, Hillside, Skokie, Westchester, Alsip, Oak Lawn, North Riverside, Country Club Hills, Crestwood, Tinley Park, Evergreen Park, Justice, Oakbrook Terrace and River Forest.
• Employs as a consultant Patrick Doherty, the chief of staff for Cook County Commissioner and McCook Mayor Jeff Tobolski. As a consultant, Doherty receives a percentage of the revenue from tickets issued through SafeSpeed in municipalities where he lands the company contracts.

Other

• Federal agents have been investigating the local governments of McCook, Lyons, Schiller Park and Summit. Each of those municipalities has contracted with Alliant/Mesirow for various kinds of insurance, according to an Oct. 25 report from the Chicago Sun-Times.
• Andrew Madigan, son of House Speaker Mike Madigan, joined the company in 2008, according to the Tribune. He began working in business development for Mesirow’s insurance division in 2010, later becoming a senior vice president.
• A 2012 Chicago Tribune report, “Madigan’s son’s employer rakes in suburbs’ insurance business,” detailed instances where local government leaders with important issues in front of the Illinois House of Representatives also did business with Andrew Madigan or Mesirow.