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 The federal investigation that led to an attempted extortion
charge for Chicago Ald. Ed Burke also extended to the most powerful political
player in the state, a new report reveals.
The FBI secretly recorded a business meeting between Illinois House Speaker Mike
Madigan and a hotel developer who had been directed to Madigan’s law firm by
Ald. Danny Solis, according to an affidavit obtained by the Chicago Sun-Times.
Solis secretly recorded dozens of conversations with Burke on behalf of federal
authorities, and is not running for re-election.
An FBI agent explained the reasoning behind the meeting in the affidavit: “I
understand Solis to mean that by hiring Madigan’s private firm, [the developer]
would ensure that Solis and Madigan would take official action benefitting [the
developer] in their capacity as public officials.”
In May 2014 the developer sought a zoning change to build a hotel in Chicago’s
Chinatown neighborhood, within Solis’ ward. Solis said he would support the
project on two conditions, according to the affidavit: First, the developer
would not build a second hotel on a nearby piece of land. And second, the
developer would acquire letters of support from key community groups.
After the developer presented letters of support to Solis, the alderman asked
the developer and an associate to attend a meeting with Madigan’s LaSalle street
law firm, according to the affidavit.
Madigan & Getzendanner is the biggest player in the profitable game of
commercial property tax appeals in Cook County. From 2011 to 2016, the firm
appealed property taxes for more than 4,200 parcels totaling more than $8.6
billion in assessed value. No other firm handled more value in commercial and
industrial properties over that time.
In the meeting, Madigan’s partner laid out the firm’s fee: 12.5 percent of all
tax savings or a fixed amount of $3,000 to $3,500 annually. “We’re not
interested in a quick killing here,” Madigan said. “We’re interested in a
long-term relationship.”
An associate of the developer called Solis Aug. 21, 2014, to confirm the
developer would hire Madigan’s law firm. Solis wrote a letter of support for the
hotel five days later.
Despite these conversations, the hotel did not ultimately sign any agreement
with Madigan’s firm by the time the FBI agent filed the affidavit in 2016. And
while the zoning change was approved the hotel was never built.
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The speaker is not facing criminal charges and
denies any wrongdoing.
Politics, power and policy
Burke was charged Jan. 3 with one count of attempted extortion for
allegedly trying to use his elected position to get property tax
legal work out of a Burger King franchise, after its owners sought
Burke’s help for a restaurant remodeling project in 2017. Like
Madigan, Burke also runs a property tax appeals business, Klafter &
Burke.
This confluence of political power and policy choices is not limited
to Chicago City Council, where aldermen such as Burke maintain
extraordinary power over administrative matters in their respective
wards.
At the state level, Madigan’s law practice is just one element of
the speaker’s undue influence. He is the longest-serving state
Democratic Party chairman in Illinois history, and the only state
legislative leader in the nation to also serve as a party chairman.
This consolidated political power flows into his role as the most
powerful House speaker in the nation.
On Jan. 28, the House Rules Committee approved the House rules,
which govern legislative procedures in Madigan’s chamber. These
rules give Madigan more procedural power than any other House
speaker in the nation.
For example, Madigan has the power to kill bills, even those that
have popular support and deserve floor debate, by virtue of his
power to handpick the majority of the Rules Committee members. This
committee determines whether a bill will be sent to a substantive
committee for deliberation or simply sit in the Rules Committee
until it dies. According to a 2017 Illinois Policy Institute
analysis, Illinois is one of only 9 states that require a bill to go
to a rules committee before being assigned elsewhere. The
requirements necessary to discharge a bill from the House Rules
Committee – if it chooses not to move a bill on its own – are
effectively impossible to meet.
Later today, the full House is scheduled to vote on these rules.
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