Illinois Sen. Emil Jones III walked out of a federal courtroom expressing gratitude for an “early Christmas gift” Thursday after striking a deal with prosecutors that could save him from a conviction three years after being hit with bribery charges.
The South Side Democrat inked what’s known as a “deferred prosecution agreement” eight months after a jury failed to reach a verdict at the end of a trial filled with intrigue and secret recordings, as well as Jones’ sworn denial that he’d struck a corrupt bargain.
When U.S. District Judge Andrea Wood asked Jones on Thursday whether he wanted to go forward with his new one-year deal, Jones said, “absolutely.”
Under the terms of the five-page agreement, Jones admitted that he lied to the FBI on Sept. 24, 2019, when he told agents he didn’t know how much money a former intern of his had been paid by red-light camera executive Omar Maani.
If Jones abides by the agreement, prosecutors are expected to seek dismissal of the charges that have been pending against him since September 2022.
Among other conditions, Jones could be required to pay a fine of $6,800. That’s the sum of two key payments prosecutors had pointed to in the case. Maani paid the former intern $1,800. The feds also accused Jones of agreeing to protect Maani in the Illinois Senate for $5,000.
The fine requirement threatened to derail the proceedings Thursday, though, after Wood asked why Jones should pay a fine without a conviction. Defense attorney Victor Henderson told the judge he’d like to research that issue — but also move forward with the agreement.
Wood ultimately agreed to approve the deal, finding it had been made in good faith. She set a Jan. 8 status hearing, in case the lawyers needed to raise any issues related to the fine.
Prosecutors struck a similar deal two months ago with former AT&T Illinois President Paul La Schiazza, whose trial ended with a hung jury in September 2024. La Schiazza had been accused of bribing former Illinois House Speaker Michael J. Madigan, who is now serving a 7½-year prison sentence in West Virginia for his own crimes.
Former Chicago Ald. Danny Solis avoided a conviction with such a deal, after he agreed to secretly record Madigan and others. Wood initially handled Solis’ agreement in 2022. It expired earlier this year.
Jones represents the 14th District, made up of parts of Chicago’s South Side and several south suburbs. He’s also the son of former Senate President Emil Jones Jr. The son took over the seat his father left behind after the father’s retirement in 2008.
But Jones III got caught up in a sprawling investigation involving Maani, a former executive in a red-light camera company. Maani wound up working for the FBI — and secretly recorded Jones III — after being confronted by the feds about “benefits” he’d delivered to public officials across the suburbs. Maani also struck a deferred prosecution agreement in 2020.
Prosecutors pursued related prosecutions against the late state Sen. Martin Sandoval and Cook County Commissioner Jeff Tobolski, who both died before serving any prison time. Their cases are also tied to Wednesday’s conviction of ex-Summit police chief John Kosmowski.
Jones III filed a bill in February 2019 that Maani saw as bad for business. It would have prompted a statewide study of red-light cameras by the Illinois Department of Transportation.
That led to the alleged deal, between Jones III and Maani, struck over two 2019 dinners at the Steak 48 steakhouse downtown. During the first, on July 17, 2019, Maani asked how much he could raise for Jones III “in an ideal world.”
Jones III eventually said, “If you can raise me five grand, that’d be good.”
Then, during their later meeting on Aug. 8, 2019, Maani told Jones III he’d help the ex-intern “100%.”
“And like I said before,” Maani added, “if you could just help me out with the, ah, the study to make it to Chicago.”
“You’re good,” Jones III told him.
The senator wound up taking the witness stand and denying that he’d struck such a deal with Maani.
He said his response was simply “how I speak,” and he described the red-light camera executive as a “used car salesman.”