Good morning, Chicago.
Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan was the state’s most powerful politician in 2018 when he allegedly met at his downtown Chicago law office with then-Ald. Danny Solis to discuss Solis’ appointment to a lucrative state board position.
Solis, who unbeknownst to Madigan was an FBI mole, made it clear he’d helped bring law business to Madigan and wanted something in return once he retired from City Hall, perhaps a position with the Commerce Commission or Labor Relations Board, which Solis said were both “very generous in their compensation,” according to federal prosecutors.
“Don’t worry about it,” Madigan allegedly said during the conversation, which was secretly being videotaped by Solis. “… Just leave it in my hands.”
That Aug. 2, 2018, exchange, which is a key moment in the sprawling case against Madigan, is charged under a statute that makes it a crime to reward a public official for an official act, regardless of any prior quid pro quo.
Or does it?
The U.S. Supreme Court is set to hear oral arguments today in a case challenging the very statute that Madigan was charged under for the Solis episode, which is commonly referred to as “666” because of its number in the federal criminal code.
Read the full story from the Tribune’s Jason Meisner and the Post-Tribune’s Amy Lavalley.
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