Judge says he won’t toss portions of perjury indictment against Madigan’s ex-chief of staff

A federal judge said Wednesday he intends to deny a bid to toss portions of the perjury indictment leveled in 2021 against Michael Madigan’s former chief of staff, keeping another public corruption trial on track for later this year.

Tim Mapes served as chief of staff to Madigan, Illinois’ former House speaker, from 1991 until June 2018. Mapes was ousted amid a string of harassment allegations. Since May 2021, he has also been under indictment for allegedly lying to the grand jury that investigated Madigan, who now faces his own racketeering indictment.

Mapes has pleaded not guilty. And last spring, his attorneys argued that portions of his perjury indictment should be tossed because the questions he fielded in front of the grand jury were ambiguous. They also said some of his allegedly false answers were “literally true.”

During a brief hearing in the case Wednesday, U.S. District Judge John Kness told lawyers he intended to deny that request. The judge also said he planned to release a written ruling later Wednesday or Thursday.

Prosecutors then confirmed for the judge that they are ready to go forward with Mapes’ trial Aug. 7.

Mapes’ indictment revolves around his grand jury testimony on March 31, 2021. It says the feds served him with a subpoena on Feb. 12, 2021, and U.S. District Chief Judge Rebecca Pallmeyer entered an immunity order on March 24, 2021. It prevented him from exercising his right not to incriminate himself.

Mapes then allegedly lied to the grand jury about whether longtime Madigan friend and confidant Michael McClain gave him any insight into his interactions with Madigan. Mapes allegedly answered, “No, that wouldn’t — that wouldn’t happen.”

Regarding whether he knew if McClain performed tasks for Madigan around 2017 or 2018, Mapes allegedly said, “I don’t recall any.” And when asked if McClain acted as an agent for Madigan after McClain’s retirement as a lobbyist in 2016, Mapes allegedly said, “I’m not aware of any. I’m not aware of that activity. Let’s put it that way.”

The recently concluded ComEd bribery trial also featured testimony about Mapes. That trial ended May 2 with convictions for McClain, former ComEd CEO Anne Pramaggiore, ex-ComEd lobbyist John Hooker and onetime City Club President Jay Doherty.

The four steered $1.3 million to five Madigan associates over eight years in a bid to sway the once-powerful lawmaker as legislation crucial to ComEd moved through the statehouse. Their sentencing hearings have been set for January, but appeals are expected to follow.

In a secret FBI recording played during their trial, Pramaggiore seemed to entertain the idea of hiring Mapes after he lost his job working for Madigan.

Madigan faces his own trial in April.