Despite his claims that he had no involvement, former Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan was captured on telephone wiretaps discussing an effort to steer money from lobbyists to a longtime political ally.
That’s according to the Chicago Sun-Times, quoting wiretap transcripts found in a recent court filing. The conversation between Madigan and top aide Michael McClain centered on McClain’s push to get several lobbyists to provide thousands of dollars in income to another Madigan aide, Kevin Quinn, who had been forced out amid sexual harassment allegations. The wiretaps were made as part of an ongoing federal investigation into whether lobbyists did favors for Madigan and his team in exchange for favorable action on important legislation.
Both Madigan and McClain were indicted on federal racketeering charges earlier this year.
