McHenry Times

State Rep. Dan Ugaste (R-Geneva) is renewing his call for ethics reform after former House Speaker Mike Madigan entered a not guilty plea in his arraignment hearing in the AT&T racketeering case.

"An honest and transparent state government is possible in Illinois but it means ending the culture of corruption that has embarrassed our state for decades. If Democrats are serious about earning the trust of Illinois residents, they will join us in the fight for real ethics reform today," Ugaste posted on Facebook.

Madigan and his ally, lobbyist Mike McClain, both declined to show up for their arraignment hearings on Nov. 1 and pled "not guilty" to conspiracy charges related to their involvement with AT&T Illinois, WIFR reported.

AT&T Illinois has agreed to pay $23 million as part of a deferred prosecution agreement in the investigation of Madigan's political operation, Yahoo reported. AT&T Illinois has admitted to attempting to influence Madigan to advance legislation in its interest by sending payments to one of his allies. The U.S. Attorney’s Office will drop the charges against AT&T in two years since the company admitted guilt.

McClain is accused of conspiring with Madigan to accept bribes from AT&T Illinois, Capitol News Illinois reported. Paul La Schiazza, the former AT&T Illinois president, is also accused of attempting to influence Madigan.

“AT&T Illinois caused the payments to be made through an intermediary – a lobbying firm that performed services for AT&T Illinois – to conceal the true nature of the payments, which was to influence and reward Madigan’s efforts as Speaker to assist the company with respect to certain legislation,” federal prosecutors alleged. "Although the members of the conspiracy formulated a pretextual assignment for Madigan’s ally to disguise why the ally was being paid, the ally performed no actual work for AT&T Illinois and had no role in advancing the legislation."

Madigan was indicted on March 2 on federal racketeering and bribery charges. According to a release from the Department of Justice, "The 22-count indictment accuses Madigan of leading for nearly a decade a criminal enterprise whose purpose was to enhance Madigan’s political power and financial well-being while also generating income for his political allies and associates." Madigan is facing charges of racketeering conspiracy, as well as individual counts of using interstate facilities to carry out bribery, wire fraud, and attempted extortion. The release notes that in addition to his role as Speaker of the House, Madigan has also held the positions of Representative of Illinois’s 22nd District, Committeeman for Chicago’s 13th Ward, Chairman of both the Illinois Democratic Party and the 13th Ward Democratic Organization, and partner at the Chicago law firm of Madigan & Getzendanner.

Madigan also pled "not guilty" to those 22 charges, Advantage News reported.

During the spring legislative session this year, Illinois Senate Republicans pushed a package of bills that would have addressed ethics reform. SB 3636 would have empowered the Attorney General to utilize a statewide grand jury to investigate and prosecute public contractor misconduct. The legislation would have also amended Illinois' RICO law, giving wiretap authority to state’s attorneys investigating public corruption. Members of the General Assembly and their immediate families would also be prohibited from working as lobbyists while that person is a member of the legislature. SB 3030 would have given the Legislative Inspector General (LIG) the authority issue subpoenas without prior permission from the Legislative Ethics Commission.