Lobbyist Will Cousineau is expected to make his second appearance on the witness stand in federal court as prosecutors on Tuesday attempt to build their case in the Tim Mapes perjury trial.
Tim Mapes, former chief of staff to House Speaker Michael Madigan, arrives at the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse in Chicago on Aug. 9, 2023.
The latter charge calls for up to 20 years in federal prison, while lying to a grand jury carries a five-year maximum prison sentence. Mapes has pleaded not guilty. Mapes he ticked off Madigan’s law partner, Vincent Getzendanner, insurance and real estate businessman Terry O’Brien, and Roger Kiley, a Madigan college friend who served as a top aide to Mayor Richard M. Daley.
Mapes said McClain would stop by the speaker’s office, sometimes when he was representing a lobbying client and sometimes “to say hi.” McClain told Mapes on the call that the land sale was “an assignment, as you probably know,” a reference to the speaker that prosecutors say shows Mapes was well aware that Madigan was doling out tasks to McClain.
Cousineau’s testimony is highly anticipated because he already showed that he can be a valuable witness for the government in the “ComEd Four” case earlier this year, which ended with the convictions all defendants on bribery-related counts, including Madigan confidant Michael McClain, a longtime ComEd lobbyist.
Mapes, McClain and Cousineau all participated in the meeting, according to prosecutors, who want to use the episode as an example of how Mapes was well aware of McClain’s intricate role in Madigan’s government and political operations.Mapes was one of a string of Madigan aides caught up in #MeToo issues in 2018, prompting fear among Madigan supporters that it could cost him the speakership. He was eventually forced out as the ComEd scandal began to engulf him.
In another meeting, Metra lobbyist Tom Cullen, who testified earlier in the Mapes trial, was spotted leaving the speaker’s office with two resumes. Yet another time, Madigan simply called the cellphone of one of his “better” precinct captains to tell him about a state job.The report, which was never officially released, gave a rare glimpse into Madigan’s thoughts on getting people government jobs and raises.
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