A former lieutenant of Michael Madigan is anticipated to renew testimony Wednesday within the former speaker’s corruption case, the place he’ll give jurors an inside have a look at Madigan’s affect on laws in Springfield and Democratic Party politics.
Will Cousineau, who served twin roles as Madigan’s House affairs director and likewise as political director of the Illinois Democratic Party, was referred to as Tuesday evening into Madigan’s trial, which is now in its second week of testimony at Dirksen US. Court.
Cousineau, now a high-powered lobbyist, beforehand testified final yr within the “ComEd Four” case, in addition to within the separate perjury trial of Tim Mapes, the speaker’s longtime chief of employees.
Testifying in a quiet voice and showing barely uncomfortable, Cousineau informed the jury early in his testimony that he had been granted immunity by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, which means he can’t be charged if he tells the reality.
In his roughly 45 minutes on the witness stand, Cousineau walked the jury by means of all of the methods Madigan had management, saying the speaker was the ultimate decider on the whole lot from the place marketing campaign cash was despatched to who obtained it legislative management positions or plum committee assignments.
Cousineau additionally testified that Madigan famously didn’t have a cellphone or e mail account of his personal and that employees usually referred to as Madigan’s authorized workplace or division headquarters to contact him.
Madigan watched Cousineau’s testimony rigorously however confirmed no outward response to what he stated.
When the trial started at 5 p.m., Cousineau stepped down from the witness stand and walked to the entrance of the jury field, as distant from the protection desk as doable.
Madigan, 82, of Chicago, who was speaker of the Illinois House for many years and head of the state Democratic Party, faces racketeering costs that allege he ran his state and political operations as a legal enterprise, plotting with Utility giants ComEd and AT&T gave his mates contracts that required little or no work and used his public place to drum up enterprise for his non-public legislation agency.
Both Madigan and co-defendant Michael McClain, 77, a former contract lobbyist for southern Quincy state ComEd, have pleaded not responsible and denied any wrongdoing.
In his testimony within the ComEd Four case final yr, Cousineau highlighted how last-minute stress orchestrated by the House speaker in 2016 made the distinction between passing the ComEd-backed Future Energy Jobs Act or acquiring a number of fewer votes.
Cousineau testified in that trial that he warned Madigan and McClain in a telephone name simply days earlier than the vote that an anticipated roll name confirmed the laws didn’t have the 60 votes wanted to move within the fall veto legislative session.
Madigan, he stated, initiated a court-wide information convention wherein Cousineau and his employees gained sufficient assist from lawmakers and advocates that they may assist flip the tide.
On Wednesday, Cousineau is anticipated to testify a few wiretapped recording of one of many Madigans
Earlier in Cousineau’s testimony, prosecutors performed a number of snippets of a recording of one in all Madigan’s “Sunday morning conferences,” the place Madigan solid a technique with an elite group of presidency staffers and lobbyists, together with together with McClain and Cousineau.
In the December 2018 recording, which got here shortly after Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner’s loss to Democrat JB Pritzker, Madigan spoke in regards to the calls for numerous House caucuses had been making for committee assignments and management posts.
Madigan has insisted that he’ll identify the bulk chief, nobody else.
“I perceive that we’ve lots of people strolling round looking for issues to complain about, however each on occasion the speaker will get to do what he needs to do,” Madigan stated.
Cousineau is the eighth witness to testify in Madigan’s trial, which started Oct. 8 and is anticipated to final till at the very least mid-December.
jmeisner@chicagotribune.com
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