Longtime aide to Madigan indicted in ComEd bribery case
CHICAGO - He was long known as the second most powerful man in the Illinois House. Now, Tim Mapes has been indicted for allegedly lying to a federal grand jury.
The case comes with a surprising twist. Mapes allegedly lied and obstructed justice after he was granted immunity from prosecution.
Wednesday’s indictment makes clear the feds are targeting Mapes’ former boss, ex-House Speaker Mike Madigan. They wanted Mapes to help their sweeping corruption investigation. It has already forced Madigan to resign and it has forced the utility giant Exelon/ComEd to admit bribing members of Madigan’s inner circle, for which Exelon/ComEd agreed to pay $200 million.
State Rep. Tom Demmer (R-Dixon) notes that, despite this ongoing scandal, the General Assembly has done little to deliver on promises of ethics reform.
"We should not attribute this to a few bad actors. We should instead be a little more reflective and say, ‘how have we allowed this culture to continue in Springfield? And what can we do to stop it?’" Demmer said.
Then-House Speaker Madigan dumped Mapes as his chief of staff three years ago. A female clerk had accused Mapes of sexual harassment. She also claimed Mapes verbally abused many of his staff.
While Madigan himself is not charged with wrongdoing, the indictment leaves no doubt he is a target of the investigation. FBI agents secretly recorded hundreds of conversations involving Madigan’s inner circle. That apparently includes conversations, the indictment says, that Mapes lied about to the grand jury.
State capitol veterans speculate that the 66-year old Mapes is willing to face prison rather than testify against Madigan.
"We can't write this stuff, right?" said State Sen. Sue Rezin (R-Morris). "And, if we did, nobody would believe us. And that's what you've seen in Springfield. This corruption is baked into absolutely every aspect of government here."
The indictment once again calls Madigan "Public Official A." However, it adds explicitly that the grand jury is investigating "efforts by Public Official A...to obtain for others private jobs, contracts, and monetary payments, in order to...reward Public Official A in connection with (his) role as Speaker of the Illinois House."