Federal prosecutors seek nearly 6 years in prison for Madigan confidant Michael McClain. The feds say a man who once had an “unbreakable” bond with former Illinois House Speaker Michael J. Madigan should be sentenced to nearly six years in prison, partly for serving as Madigan’s “agent, messenger” and “henchman” in a lengthy conspiracy involving ComEd.
Prosecutors said Thursday that Michael McClain’s “tight connection” with the former speaker led to McClain “making demand after demand of ComEd to fulfill Madigan’s directives,” as a jury concluded in May 2023.
“McClain’s plan was illegal to its core,” they wrote. […]
Six years ago, McClain bragged about how “you’ve never seen my name in a newspaper article.” But in the years since, he’s become a central character in multiple trials at the Dirksen Federal Courthouse.
He faced two of his own. One ended with McClain’s conviction for the ComEd conspiracy, for which he now faces sentencing. Jurors in that case found McClain guilty for his role in a scheme to pay $1.3 million to five Madigan allies to curry favor with Madigan.
Convicted along with McClain in that case were former ComEd CEO Anne Pramaggiore, ex-ComEd lobbyist John Hooker and onetime City Club President Jay Doherty. All four face sentencing before Shah in the coming weeks.
McClain then went to trial a second time, alongside Madigan. But jurors in that case returned no verdict when it came to McClain. […]
However, U.S. District Judge John Blakey took Madigan to task last month while sentencing him to 7 ½ years in prison. The judge accused Madigan of lying on the witness stand, including about his relationship with McClain.
“McClain was one of Madigan’s most trusted operatives,” Blakey said, “not just one lobbyist of many as Madigan falsely portrayed in his testimony on the witness stand.”
Read the rest of this story from WBEZ Chicago.
CRIMINAL LAW
FBI agents make arrests of alleged large-scale methamphetamine distribution network. Following a two-week sting operation led by the FBI, eight Illinoisans are facing federal charges for running a drug ring.
Prosecutors with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Illinois said the arrests and charges are the result of a regional anti-crime task force comprised of local, state, and federal authorities.
The group was tasked with dismantling violent criminal networks in the region.
The arrests are the result of an investigation that began in late May and went through early June.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Illinois praised the actions of law enforcement and stated that they represented an intensified effort to fight against organized drug crime in Illinois. Prosecutors said the investigation is still ongoing and more arrests could be coming.
INSURANCE
State Farm raising Illinois homeowners’ insurance rates by 27%. Property insurance rates are skyrocketing nationwide, driven upwards by extreme weather events in a variety of states. State Farm, the largest writer of Illinois homeowners’ insurance policies, has stated its intent to raise Illinois homeowners insurance rates by 27.2% in August.
The State Farm rate increase will affect almost 1.5 million policyholders. The State Farm increase announcement follows implementation in February 2025 by Northbrook-based insurer Allstate of a 14.3% hike for nearly 250,000 Illinois customers.
Both Allstate and State Farm raised their rates by double-digit percentage numbers in 2024. The 2025 hikes are in addition to the 2024 increases. LendingTree reports that the average Illinois homeowners’ insurance policy costs $2,743/year prior to the current round of increases.
JOBS
Stellantis takes steps to recall laid-off workers at Belvidere assembly plant. The announcement marks further progress in the fight to reopen the shuttered motor vehicle assembly plant.
The letter from Stellantis constitutes a pledge from the employer to local workers that the company will recall laid-off workers when the assembly plant reopens. When Belvidere Stellantis shut down, the workers who were laid off were given a chance to register their seniority and to state whether they would like to be called back. This registration list will be used when the plant reopens.
The reopened Belvidere plant will, it is hoped, provide jobs for 1,500 people in northern Illinois. With Ford Chicago, the Belvidere complex is one of two automotive assembly lines built by the traditional “Big Three” automakers in Illinois. The Stellantis letter was made public on Tuesday, July 8.
Wood River approves plan to build a $62 million film studio & entertainment complex. The former EnviroTech Business Park in the Metro East’s Wood River, a 105-acre site, could become a film studio and e-gaming arena. Developer WR Farm Investments LLC has won approval to purchase the Wood River business park for the construction of sound stages for film production. In a presentation to Wood River officials, the CEO of the development group explicitly credited an enhanced film production tax credit for helping to spur the proposal. As enacted in 2024 by the Illinois General Assembly, the enhanced film tax credit includes added incentives for work done on new Illinois stages and for work done in Downstate Illinois.
TAXES
Democrats continue eyeing delivery tax as next hike on taxpayers. Legislation that would impose a $1.50 delivery tax on Illinois businesses did not pass both Chambers from the latest Spring Session. However, the tax hike proposal did pass in the Senate as part of HB 3438. This incredibly burdensome bill contained a LOT of costly proposals, as Democrats searched high and low for ideas to bail out Chicago’s transit funding woes.
The delivery tax idea was introduced very late in Session, a time-honored method used by Democrats to introduce bad ideas at the last minute to give limited time for feedback or transparency. With Chicago’s Regional Transit Authority (RTA) facing a reported $770 million deficit, several tax hikes were proposed, along with an overhaul of the entire transit system, as part of HB 3438.
The Retail Delivery Climate Impact Fee Act, as the Democrats termed the legislation, would impose a $1.50 ‘climate impact’ fee on or after January 1, 2026, on each retail delivery that includes at least one item that is subject to state sales tax and delivered by a motor vehicle to a location within the state. There could be some exclusions, including prescription drugs and grocery items, but the verbiage was vague. The tax would be imposed on any home delivery order placed online. Of the funds raised, 80 percent would go to the Chicagoland transit systems and 20 percent would go to downstate transit agencies.
The proposed delivery tax was universally panned by restaurants, small businesses, and major delivery services; and considering how reliant senior citizens and those with mobility issues are on delivery providers, this tax would be especially burdensome to vulnerable populations. Large third-party couriers such as DoorDash and Uber came out with harsh public statements on the proposed tax, and the backlash helped to stall the bill in the House. For now.
The Chicago transit situation remains dire, with a ‘looming fiscal cliff’ continuously being reported. Thousands of jobs could be lost, and transportation corridors could be interrupted, delayed, or eliminated in the Chicagoland region if the funding issue is not addressed soon. Lawmakers will be under big-time pressure to address the situation during the upcoming Veto Session in October, and there is always the possibility of a Special Session being called this summer.
With their backs up against the wall, Democrats will likely cave at some point and pass a package of tax hikes to rescue the transit system in Chicago. And with the continued rise and popularity of delivery services in the state and country overall, Dems could easily see dollar signs and a major revenue source there for the taking. The delivery tax may not have been implemented yet, but the danger remains high. Illinois residents and businesses must remain vigilant and oppose this egregious, costly, and unpopular tax hike.