Former staffer claiming harassment expected to testify in Madigan corruption trial

[November 04, 2024]  By Jim Talamonti | The Center Square

(The Center Square) – The public corruption trial of former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan and co-defendant Michael McClain is set to resume Monday at the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse in downtown Chicago.

Former Democratic Party of Illinois campaign worker Alaina Hampton is expected to take the witness stand after former Madigan and Democrat staffer Will Cousineau. Cousineau began testifying Tuesday afternoon, continued Wednesday and Thursday, and was expected to return to the stand for additional cross-examination on Monday morning.

Another Madigan staffer, Kevin Quinn, was the subject of some of Cousineau's testimony. Quinn was fired in 2018 after Hampton accused him of sexual harassment.

In a conversation recorded by the FBI on Aug. 28, 2018, and played by U.S. government prosecutors on Thursday, McClain told Cousineau that Quinn had asked McClain to help him find a job.

“And just between you and me, I know that, and I think I casually mentioned it to you once, that Speaker intends to help him after he gets sworn in and he’s got his rules,” McClain told Cousineau during the call.

“Right,” Cousineau answered.

“But he just feels like he can’t do it now,” McClain said. “So I decided I’d try to put some guys together to kick him a grand each, including me, for six months or until he, if he gets a job earlier than that, it would all terminate.”

McClain asked Cousineau if he could help by having Quinn do a report and paying him $1,000 per month for about six months.

Cousineau asked McClain if Quinn would register to lobby for Cornerstone, the firm where Cousineau began working in June 2017.

“Oh no, no, no, this is totally a consultant. And, as far as I’m concerned, except for the people that are signing on, no one else even knows about it except for our friend,” McClain said in the recorded conversation.

Cousineau confirmed in court Thursday that “our friend” referred to Madigan.

In the same conversation, McClain again referred to Madigan after suggesting that Cousineau set up his own business aside from Cornerstone.

“And he doesn’t do it very often, but you know, every few years, he’s got somebody that he’s gotta take care of for a month or two, right?” McClain told Cousineau.

Prosecutors then played a clip from a phone recording three days later, dated Aug. 31, 2018. During the call, McClain suggested the kind of work Quinn could do for Cousineau and Cornerstone.

“He would do us a report, a written report, of like six House members, three senators, three county board, three city council members and talk about things little known about them, like maybe who their sugar daddies are or something like that,” McClain said.

Former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan walks out of the Everett M. Dirksen U.S. Courthouse in Chicago on Wednesday, Jan. 3, 2024. - By Brett Rowland | The Center Square

Cousineau responded by suggesting that Quinn could instead do work that would be helpful to Cousineau.

“And I would have a contract and some honest things that he actually really helped me with,” Cousineau told McClain on the recording.

A federal lawsuit Hampton filed in 2018 alleged that around August 2016, Quinn started “severe and pervasive sexual harassment” with repeated calls, some late at night, and dozens of text messages. The unwanted text messages continued even after Hampton repeatedly told Quinn to stop, according to the lawsuit and copies of text messages included in the court filing.

The Democratic Party of Illinois and political committees controlled by then-Speaker Madigan paid $275,000 to settle the lawsuit. The committees included Friends of Michael J. Madigan and the 13th Ward Democratic Organization. In addition to serving as Illinois House Speaker and chairman of the state’s Democratic Party, Madigan was also 13th Ward committeeman and chairman of the 13th Ward Democratic Organization.

Madigan defense attorney Todd Pugh argued Wednesday that the court should place limits on Hampton’s testimony, saying Hampton had become a “Swiss Army knife” of a witness.

On Thursday, Pugh argued that evidence about Quinn should apply to McClain but not to Madigan. Judge John Robert Blakey disagreed and denied the Madigan team’s motion. Blakey agreed with prosecutors that the evidence was squarely within Count One of the government’s indictment against Madigan and McClain.

Madigan and McClain are charged with 23 counts of bribery, racketeering and official misconduct in a nearly decade long scheme federal prosecutors called "Madigan Enterprise." They allege Madigan and McClain used Madigan's public office to secure little- to do-nothing jobs for their associates by advancing legislation favorable to utility Commonwealth Edison.

A full day of court from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. is expected Monday after shorter trial hours on Wednesday and Thursday.

Blakey stated last week that proceedings would begin two hours late on Tuesday, Nov. 5, so that jurors could vote on Election Day.

Greg Bishop and Brett Rowland contributed to this story.