- Timothy Mapes, former chief of staff to Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan, was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison for lying under oath to a grand jury.
- Mapes is required to begin serving his sentence in mid-June.
- Four others previously had ties to Mr. Madigan’s associates and were convicted in a bribery conspiracy involving the state’s largest power company.
A federal judge in Chicago on Monday charged long-time Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan’s former chief of staff of lying under oath to a grand jury to protect his once-powerful boss. He was sentenced to two and a half years in prison.
U.S. District Judge John F. Kunes sentenced Timothy Mapes, 69, of Springfield. A jury in U.S. District Court in Chicago convicted Mapes last year of lying to a grand jury and attempted obstruction of justice.
“I don’t know why. You were given immunity by the grand jury, so all you had to do was go in and tell the truth,” Judge John Kunes said. . “You knew the testimony was false. … You cannot ignore that finding.”
Prosecutors adjourn corruption trial against colleague of former Illinois congressman
The judge said Mapes is scheduled to report to prison in mid-June to begin his sentence.
Timothy Mapes, former chief of staff to longtime Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan, leaves a current hearing in a federal perjury case in Dirksen U.S. Court on October 13, 2022. A federal judge in Chicago sentenced Mapes to two and a half years in prison. He went to prison for lying under oath to a grand jury. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
Kness told the court he felt loyalty may have been a motive for Mapes’ deception, but said those feelings were wrong.
“Your loyalty was misplaced, and now you will pay the price,” he said.
Prosecutors told jurors that Mapes repeatedly lied when testifying before a grand jury investigating Madigan and others in 2021. They said Mr. Madigan lied, among other things, when he said he could not recall relevant details about his relationship with Mr. McClain’s confidant, Michael McClain.
One witness, a congressman, told jurors that for years Madigan, Mapes and McClain formed a powerful triumvirate in the Illinois House of Representatives, with Madigan at the head, controlling which bills passed through the Legislature. said.
The government’s evidence included wiretapped phone recordings and audio of Mapes testifying before the grand jury.
Prosecutor Julia Schwartz said of Mapes in closing arguments: “He did everything he could to disrupt the process…minimizing his participation and acting as if he was ignorant.” .
Defense attorney Andrew Porter said during the adjournment that Mapes had no motive to lie to protect his former boss after Madigan was forced to resign in 2018 over harassment allegations, but Mapes said: denied this.
“Why would he fall on his sword for the man he kicked to the curb three years ago?” Porter asked.
Illinois Democrat Michael Madigan indicted on federal racketeering and bribery charges
A federal jury convicted four defendants last May of a bribery conspiracy involving the state’s largest power company. Prosecutors said Mr. McClain, two former ComEd executives and a former public interest consultant arranged contracts, jobs and money for Mr. Madigan’s associates to secure passage of legislation that would increase ComEd’s profits.
A year before Mr. Madigan was indicted, he resigned from Congress as the longest-serving speaker of the state House of Representatives in modern U.S. history amid speculation that he was a target of the federal government.
The indictment accuses Madigan of profiting from private law work illegally directed to his law firm. He denies any wrongdoing.
Madigan lost his chair and resigned from his seat in the House in 2021, a year before McClain was arrested in a separate extortion case in which he accused McClain of selling the office for personal gain. was also indicted. That trial is scheduled to begin in October.
