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CHICAGO — Federal prosecutors in Chicago delivered their opening statement to jurors in the bribery case involving former executives and lobbyists for the ComEd, the largest electric utility in Illinois. For more than an hour, Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah Streicker laid out a years-long effort to influence and curry favor with Michael Madigan, the former Speaker […]

CHICAGO — Jury selection began Tuesday in the ComEd bribery trial. The four defendants, charged in November 2020, are former ComEd CEO Anne Pramaggiore; former ComEd Vice President and lobbyist John Hooker; Jay Doherty, a former ComEd contractor and President of the City Club of Chicago; and Michael McClain, a former ComEd lobbyist and consultant […]

CHICAGO — Jury selection began Tuesday in the ComEd bribery case. U.S. District Judge Harry Leinenweber — who, just months ago presided over the high-profile R. Kelly child pornography trial — questioned more than 90 potential jurors throughout the day, dismissing more than two dozen of them. The selection process is set to resume Wednesday morning at the […]

CHICAGO — It’s day nine of the ComEd bribery trial at the Dirksen Federal Building in downtown Chicago. The four defendants on trial are accused of bribing associates of former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan. Juror were shown secretly recorded videos and phone conversations, as well as heard testimony from the government’s key witness. Former […]

CHICAGO — The ongoing ComEd bribery trial continued Thursday as jurors heard witness testimony from the former CEO. The four defendants, charged in November 2020, are former ComEd CEO Anne Pramaggiore; former ComEd Vice President and lobbyist John Hooker; Jay Doherty, a former ComEd lobbying contractor and President of the City Club of Chicago; and […]

CHICAGO — Closing arguments are underway Monday in the ComEd bribery trial. The defense rested its case Friday after just two of the four defendants chose to testify. ComEd lobbyist, John Hooker, admitted Wednesday to hiring allies of then-House speaker Michael Madigan. He claimed they were just political referrals and not part of a bribery […]

CHICAGO — The corruption trial for the “ComEd Four” are now in the hands of the jurors. Federal prosecutors finished up their rebuttal argument Tuesday after six weeks of testimony and two days of closing arguments in the ComEd bribery trial. “We’re not talking about amateurs here,” Assistant US Attorney Amar Bhachu tells jurors during […]

CHICAGO — A former CEO and former Vice President of ComEd took the stand Tuesday in what’s being called as the “ComEd Four” trial. Anna Pramaggiore testified in her own defense Monday before facing cross examination by federal prosecutors for over two hours Tuesday. Pramaggiore denied Monday she tried to bribe former House Speaker Mike […]

A top official with the Illinois Toll Highway Authority was caught where no one wants to be: On an FBI wiretap.  While tollway board vice chairman Jim Connolly was not accused of wrongdoing, the recordings played at a recent bribery trial appear to show him pledging allegiance to former Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan, who […]

The “ComEd Four” on trial are former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan’s confidant Michael McClain, former ComEd CEO Anne Pramaggiore, former ComEd lobbyist John Hooker and former ComEd consultant Jay Doherty were found guilty on all counts Tuesday.

CHICAGO — Three and a half days of deliberations for the jurors in the bribery trial for the “ComEd Four” continued Monday. The “ComEd Four” on trial are former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan’s confidant Michael McClain, former ComEd CEO Anne Pramaggiore, former ComEd lobbyist John Hooker and former ComEd consultant Jay Doherty. All have pleaded not guilty to multiple […]

CHICAGO — The defense rested their case on Wednesday after more than a month of grueling testimony in the “ComEd Four” trial. The “ComEd Four” are former Madigan confidant Michael McClain, former ComEd CEO Anne Pramaggiore, former ComEd lobbyist John Hooker and former ComEd consultant Jay Doherty. All have pleaded not guilty to multiple charges, including […]

The “ComEd Four” on trial are former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan’s confidant Michael McClain, former ComEd CEO Anne Pramaggiore, former ComEd lobbyist John Hooker and former ComEd consultant Jay Doherty. All have pleaded not guilty to multiple charges, including bribery conspiracy.

The four people on trial are former Madigan confidant Michael McClain, former ComEd CEO Anne Pramaggiore, former ComEd lobbyist John Hooker and former ComEd consultant Jay Doherty. All have pleaded not guilty to multiple charges, including bribery conspiracy.

CHICAGO — The second day of jury deliberations in the “ComEd Four” bribery trial took place Thursday. The “ComEd Four” on trial are former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan’s confidant Michael McClain, former ComEd CEO Anne Pramaggiore, former ComEd lobbyist John Hooker and former ComEd consultant Jay Doherty. All have pleaded not guilty to multiple charges, including bribery conspiracy. On […]

Pramaggiore and three defendants, charged in November 2020, are former ComEd Vice President and lobbyist John Hooker; Jay Doherty, a former ComEd lobbying contractor and President of the City Club of Chicago; and Michael McClain, another former ComEd lobbying contractor and consultant who, for decades, has been a close confidant of Madigan. All have pleaded not guilty.

CHICAGO — Lawyers for the “ComEd Four” are expected to appeal Tuesday’s conviction after being found guilty in the federal bribery trial. Federal jurors on Tuesday convicted all four defendants of bribery conspiracy at their trial in Chicago that provided an inside look at pay-to-play politics in Illinois that prosecutors said involved the state’s largest […]

All four defendants on the “ComEd Four” Trial were found guilty on all chargest on Tuesday at the Dirksen Federal Courthouse in Chicago.

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — Another federal conviction for political corruption in Illinois, another call for tougher ethics laws. A jury last week slapped convictions on four political insiders in a wide-ranging bribery case involving power giant ComEd’s bribery of the once-powerful speaker of the Ilinois House. While a key House Democrat confirmed Tuesday that discussions about a […]

CHICAGO — Mayor Lori Lightfoot is touting a new agreement her administration reached with Commonwealth Edison (ComEd), but several members of City Council are questioning the timing of the deal. “We are doing what’s never been done before in the history of our city — providing environmental economic benefits through franchise agreement,” Lightfoot said. The […]

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — The Texas Legislature already made one historic move with its impeachment of Republican state Attorney General Ken Paxton. Another one is coming. The GOP-led House of Representatives on Saturday approved 20 articles of impeachment on sweeping allegations of wrongdoing that have trailed the state’s top lawyer for years, including abuse of […]

CHICAGO — Former Illinois House Speaker Michael J. Madigan pleaded not guilty during his first appearance in court on federal racketeering, bribery, wire fraud and extortion charges Wednesday. Madigan did not speak. Due to COVID protocols, the hearing was held over the phone, sparing the Democrat shame of marching in and out of court. Political […]

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder and former state Republican Party Chair Matt Borges were convicted Thursday in a $60 million bribery scheme that federal prosecutors have called the largest corruption case in state history. A jury in Cincinnati found the two guilty of conspiracy to participate in a racketeering enterprise involving […]

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — After years of legal and ethical scandals swirling around Texas Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton, the state’s GOP-controlled House of Representatives has moved toward an impeachment vote that could quickly throw him from office. The extraordinary and rarely used maneuver comes in the final days of the state’s legislative session and […]

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — On the way to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton becoming a rising figure in the GOP, his wife, Angela, used to entertain crowds with a guitar and a song. “I’m a pistol-packin’ mama, and my husband sues Obama,” she sang at campaign events and Republican clubs in Texas. When it came […]

CHICAGO — Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx said Monday that her office will no longer prosecute the four pending criminal cases against disgraced R&B singer R. Kelly. Cook County prosecutors dropped the 10 counts at a hearing Tuesday at the Leighton Criminal Courts Building. The decision to drop the charges was prompted by the […]

WASHINGTON (AP) — Movie star Leonardo DiCaprio testified in federal court Monday morning as part of a trial involving international money laundering, bribery and a prominent rap artist. Prakazrel “Pras” Michel — a founding member of the iconic 1990s hip-hop group, The Fugees — is accused of funneling money from a fugitive Malaysian financer through […]

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — The historic impeachment of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton was just the first round of a Republican brawl over whether to banish one of their own in America’s biggest red state after years of criminal accusations. Paxton and his allies, from former President Donald Trump to hard-right grassroots organizations across Texas, […]

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas’ Republican-led House of Representatives impeached state Attorney General Ken Paxton on Saturday on articles including bribery and abuse of public trust, a sudden, historic rebuke of a GOP official who rose to be a star of the conservative legal movement despite years of scandal and alleged crimes. Impeachment triggers Paxton’s […]

NEW YORK (AP) — An American sleuth and two Chinese men faced jurors Wednesday in the first trial to come out of U.S. claims that China’s government has tried to harass, intimidate and arm-twist dissidents and others abroad into returning home. Michael McMahon, Zheng Congying and Zhu Yong are charged with being part of a […]

President Joe Biden has granted the first three pardons of his term, providing clemency to a Kennedy-era Secret Service agent convicted of federal bribery charges that he tried to sell a copy of an agency file and to two people who were convicted on drug-related charges but went on to become pillars in their communities.

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A historic impeachment trial in Texas to determine whether Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton should be permanently removed from office will begin no later than August in the state Senate, where the jury that would determine his future could include his wife, Sen. Angela Paxton. Setting a schedule was one of […]

NEW YORK (AP) — A former Goldman Sachs banker was sentenced Thursday to 10 years in prison for his role in looting a Malaysian sovereign wealth fund of billions of dollars used to finance lavish parties, a superyacht, premium real estate and even the 2013 film “The Wolf of Wall Street.” Roger Ng was convicted […]

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is negotiating a plea deal in his corruption case, a person involved in the talks said Sunday. The deal, which could be signed as early as this week, could usher Netanyahu off the Israeli political stage for years, paving the way for a leadership […]

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on Friday urged his supporters to protest at the state Capitol when Republicans in the House of Representatives take up historic impeachment proceedings that threaten to oust him. The House has set a Saturday vote to consider impeaching Paxton and suspending him from office over allegations […]

CHICAGO (AP) — A man who admitted to authorities that he was taking part in a $300,000 bribery scheme while he was mayor of a financially struggling Chicago suburb was sentenced Tuesday to two years in federal prison. The sentencing of former Markham Mayor David Webb comes more than three years after he pleaded guilty to “honest […]

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — The largest corruption case in Ohio history culminated last week with guilty verdicts for ex-House Speaker Larry Householder and lobbyist Matt Borges, the former head of the Republican Party. But the state’s attorney general said it’s “only the beginning of accountability” for the now-tainted $1 billion bailout of two aging nuclear […]

As 2021 got underway, many of us expected the new year would bring better times. Well, that transition has taken longer than we hoped.  In the meantime, we had many other challenges to focus on and victories to celebrate. WGN’s Ray Cortopassi has a look back at the events that shaped our past year. Politics […]

NEW YORK (AP) — A former tour manager for R. Kelly reluctantly testified Friday that he paid a $500 bribe to a government worker to get the singer Aaliyah a fake identification card so Kelly could secretly marry her when she was 15 years old. Demetrius Smith told a jury at Kelly’s sex-trafficking trial that after he […]

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s legal team asserted Monday that he did “absolutely nothing wrong,” urging the Senate to swiftly reject the “flimsy” and “rigged” impeachment case against him as preparations were underway at the Capitol for a contentious trial to consider removing him from office. The brief from Trump’s lawyers, filed ahead of opening […]

EVANSTON, Ill. — Northwestern University and the University of Notre Dame have come up in a college sports bribery case after a financial adviser testified as part of a trial in New York, that he paid college football players. Louis “Marty” Blazer said he gave cash to players from seven schools, hoping they’d hire him […]

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Thursday the House was proceeding with articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump, a historic step that is likely to make Trump the third President in US history to be impeached. “Today, I am asking our chairmen to proceed with articles of impeachment,” Pelosi said in a brief address outside her […]

WASHINGTON — The witnesses have spoken, the politics are largely settled. Now impeachment investigators will make the case for public opinion. On Monday, hundreds of pages from Democratic Chairman Adam Schiff’s intelligence committee were being compiled into an exhaustive report that will begin to outline whether President Donald Trump engaged in “treason, bribery or other […]

WASHINGTON  — House Democrats announced two articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump on Tuesday, declaring he “betrayed the nation” with his actions toward Ukraine as they pushed toward historic proceedings that are certain to help define his presidency and shape the 2020 election. The specific charges aimed at removing the 45th president of the U.S.: Abuse […]

An analyst with the Cook County Board of Review has implicated his former boss and now Cook County assessor, Joe Berrios, in a bribery scheme. Thomas Hawkins is on trial for taking a cash payoff from a corrupt police officer, in exchange for giving him a property tax break. Tuesday, Berrios name came up on […]

Terrence Lavin seemed an ideal candidate when he ran last year for a seat on the Illinois Appellate Court. The veteran trial lawyer had served as president of the Illinois State Bar Association and taught law school for a decade. Two years earlier he had been appointed to fill a vacancy on the appeals court, […]