At&T, Walgreens Among Others Listed in Fed’s Subpoena of Madigan Records

By Jeremy Coumbes on July 18, 2020 at 12:32pm

New information has come out in the probe into Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan.

According to WBEZ in Chicago, federal investigators who subpoenaed Madigan’s state office yesterday sought records involving AT&T, Walgreens, Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, and several political operatives and lobbyists.

The request for information also seeks records about ComEd and former executives of the energy giant, which has agreed to pay $200 million to end a federal criminal investigation.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office filed the one count criminal investigation in Chicago court Friday morning charging ComEd with bribery, after ComEd admitted to arranging jobs and vendor subcontracts for Madigan’s political allies and workers, as well as performing other favors in order to gain favorable legislation in the General Assembly.

WBEZ says the subpoena request also sought records pertaining to members of Madigan’s political organization, the speaker’s law firm, four former state lawmakers, four former or current Chicago alderman and information concerning a land deal in Chinatown that was reportedly a cornerstone of a federal corruption probe that brought down former Chicago Alderman Danny Solis.

A host of political allies and operatives connected to Madigan were named in the subpoena, including Will Cousineau, a former aid who served for 18 years under Madigan becoming a lobbyist for ComEd, only severing ties between his lobbying firm and ComEd just last year.

Michael Zalewski, a former Chicago Alderman was also named. According to WBEZ, Zalewski’s son is an important member of Madigan’s House Democratic caucus, and Zalewski’s wife Carrie Zalewiski is head of the state regulatory agency over ComEd.

According to the report, Madigan recommended Carrie Zalewiski to head the Illinois Commerce Commission prior to Governor J.B. Pritzker appointing her to the position.