Danny Solis spent four days on the witness stand answering questions from a prosecutor about the recordings he made of then-Illinois House Speaker Michael J. Madigan, as well as Solis’ transgressions involving Viagra, massages that turned sexual and an affair that broke up his marriage.
And that might have been the easy part.
Because Monday, when jurors return to Madigan’s trial after the extended Thanksgiving break, defense attorneys are set to begin their long-awaited cross-examination of the feds’ star witness.
One prosecutor predicted in September that Solis is “going to get raked over the coals.”
The former 25th Ward City Council member wore a wire for the FBI against Madigan and other powerful politicians to avoid prison for his own alleged wrongdoings.
Solis has been questioned publicly by a defense attorney before. He was summoned to the witness stand in December 2023 by lawyers for former Ald. Edward M. Burke, who is now in prison for racketeering. But attorney Chris Gair was apparently limited then in what he could ask Solis.
Solis’ experience is expected to be different this time around.
Solis testified for 90 minutes Wednesday until U.S. District Judge John Blakey sent jurors home for Thanksgiving. Once the jury left the courtroom, Assistant U.S. Attorney Diane MacArthur confirmed that she had completed her initial questioning of Solis.
MacArthur and Solis spent the morning reviewing additional recordings with the jury, mostly from late 2018. Jurors heard how a Chinatown development deal unraveled and how Solis continued to pester Madigan about an appointment to a government board. Solis also acknowledged that, in January 2019, the public learned he’d been wearing a wire for the FBI.
His undercover work was revealed by the Chicago Sun-Times.
Jurors also may have spotted a punching bag in Madigan’s office that had outgoing Gov. Bruce Rauner’s likeness on it in November 2018. It was captured on a video recording made by Solis.
Madigan is on trial for a racketeering conspiracy. Prosecutors say he led a criminal enterprise designed to enrich himself and enhance his political power. Michael McClain, Madigan’s longtime ally, is accused of acting as Madigan’s agent.
Madigan is also accused of trying to use Solis in three schemes to illegally steer business to Madigan’s private tax appeal law firm, Madigan & Getzendanner. The allegations involve an apartment project in the West Loop, a state-owned parking lot in Chinatown and the Old Post Office straddling the Eisenhower Expressway.
Solis’ testimony on Wednesday revolved around the alleged Chinatown and Old Post Office schemes. Developers wanted to build a hotel on the Chinatown property. But first, they needed the state to transfer possession to the city of Chicago. Solis sought Madigan’s assistance, promising him that the developers would then give business to Madigan.
But jurors heard Tuesday how the plan began to run into political opposition in Springfield. And Wednesday, they heard McClain tell Solis about another “major hurdle” — that business owners in Chinatown had gathered 3,000 signatures from people opposed to the project.
Solis acknowledged to Madigan in a Nov. 23, 2018, meeting that the developers had decided to “hold off.” But he also revisited a request he’d made of Madigan amid discussions about the Old Post Office — that Madigan help Solis land a paid seat on a government board.
Solis told Madigan he didn’t plan to run to keep his City Council seat in the February 2019 election. But he said “there’s a hell of a lot of stuff going on” with developers who would need his help as Zoning Committee chairman before he left office.
He promised Madigan, “I can still help you a lot.”
Madigan told him “OK, thank you. Thank you.”
Then, Madigan asked, “Do you want to go forward now on one of those state appointments?”