When word surfaced in February that prosecutors might be in plea talks with state Sen. Emil Jones III, it seemed the longtime legislator might follow the lead of so many colleagues who faced federal criminal charges.
Resign from the Legislature, plead guilty and avoid trial.
But no deal surfaced. Both sides kept preparing for a jury. And Jones defense attorney Victor Henderson rejected the idea that the Democratic lawmaker might plead guilty. Henderson told reporters “the takeaway from recent cases tells us that the legal landscape is changing.
“Everyday events involving elected officials must be placed in an honest and fair context,” Henderson said in a statement. “The senator is looking forward to his day in court.”
That day comes Monday, when Jones faces trial for bribery and lying to the FBI, charges that have been pending since late 2022. But the landscape has indeed changed since then, giving renewed confidence to the defense bar at the Dirksen Federal Courthouse.
Most notably, the U.S. Supreme Court restricted prosecutors’ use of a popular bribery law at play in Jones’ case. The ruling means prosecutors must show an intent to exchange something of value for an official act.
That’s complicated the work of the U.S. attorney’s office. But the feds still managed to put former Ald. Edward M. Burke in prison for bribery and other crimes last fall. Former Illinois House Speaker Michael J. Madigan could share that fate following his own bribery conviction.
Now, Jones is poised to be the first sitting state legislator to face trial since former state Rep. Derrick Smith. Also defended by Henderson, Smith was found guilty of bribery by a jury in 2014. A judge later handed him a five-month prison sentence.
A parade of state lawmakers have faced criminal charges in the years since, only to resign from the Illinois General Assembly and admit their crimes. Former state Sens. Thomas Cullerton, Martin Sandoval and Terry Link all quit shortly before pleading guilty.
Madigan left public office years before his trial, when it became clear the feds had him in their sights.
But Jones’ career will be on the line — as well as his freedom — when this latest jury delivers its verdict. Jones represents the 14th District, which includes parts of Chicago’s South Side and several south suburbs.
“The government has cherry-picked very limited portions of audio recordings to paint a false picture,” Henderson told the Sun-Times last week. “On top of that, the government’s star witness is anything but a choir boy. Conversely, the senator has never been known as a wheeler-dealer in Springfield. His passion has always been his constituents.
“By the time the trial is over, the jury will have heard and seen a very different story than the one painted by the government.”
Sandoval, who factors into Jones’ case, died late in 2020. Henderson argued last month that certain tapes featuring Sandoval shouldn’t be played at trial because Sandoval can’t be cross-examined. Prosecutors told the judge they don’t intend to use them.
A 16-year veteran of the state Senate, the biggest headlines of Jones’ tenure hit before he even took office. That’s because Jones took over the seat left behind by his father, former Senate President Emil Jones Jr., after the elder Jones announced his retirement in 2008.
The Chicago Sun-Times ran a full page of letters from readers frustrated at the time by what appeared to be the city’s latest example of political nepotism.
The move was also compared to the campaign being run at the time by then-presidential hopeful Barack Obama. Jones Jr. considered himself the political godfather of Obama, the Democrat who rose from a seat in the Illinois Senate to the White House.
A very different fate could be ahead for Jones III, if prosecutors are successful in Chicago’s latest corruption trial. The feds say Jones III agreed to protect a businessman with an interest in a red-light camera company, SafeSpeed, in exchange for $5,000 and a job for someone who worked as an intern in the senator’s office.
In one recording of Jones III and the businessman, Omar Maani, the men specifically reference former state Rep. David McSweeney. The Republican from the northwest suburbs was a leading opponent of SafeSpeed and red-light cameras in Springfield.
When contacted by the Chicago Sun-Times, McSweeney said in a text message he “was not aware of the case against Senator Jones until it was publicly announced.
“I have never been questioned about the Jones case or any case involving corrupt Illinois politicians,” McSweeney wrote. “One of my top accomplishments was spending my time in office fighting to expose the corrupt red light camera system that has preyed on the people of Illinois.”
Maani faced a conspiracy charge of his own in 2020. But he struck a so-called deferred prosecution deal with the feds and agreed to cooperate in their investigations. A judge dismissed the conspiracy charge in May 2023.
Prosecutors recently insisted Maani agreed to cooperate and recorded meetings with public officials before striking any deal with the feds. SafeSpeed has not been accused of wrongdoing, and its executives have depicted Maani as a rogue actor.
Maani also played a role in prosecutions that brought down Sandoval, former Crestwood Mayor Louis Presta, former Worth Township Supervisor John O’Sullivan and former Oakbrook Terrace Mayor Tony Ragucci.
Now, Maani is set to serve as a star witness in the trial of Jones III, which is expected to last no more than two weeks. O’Sullivan could also take the stand, as well as lobbyist Vince Williams and FBI and IRS special agents.
Several details about the feds’ allegations emerged only in the last few weeks. The case revolves around a bill Jones III filed in February 2019 that would have required the Illinois Department of Transportation to conduct a statewide study of automated traffic enforcement systems, including red-light cameras.
For months, the bill went nowhere. But between April and September 2019, prosecutors say Jones III sought to benefit from Maani’s fear that the bill could damage SafeSpeed’s business. The pair spent the summer trading calls, emails and text messages, records show.
The feds say they have recordings of the men dining at Steak 48, as well as at Gibsons Bar & Steakhouse with Sandoval. They’ve also made reference to a March 2017 email between Maani and Presta.
During one meal at Steak 48 in July 2019, prosecutors say Maani asked how much money he could raise for Jones III. The senator allegedly told him, “You can raise me five grand. That’d be good.” Jones III also allegedly asked about a job for his intern, Christopher Katz, who is not accused of wrongdoing.
Later in the conversation, Jones III allegedly promised to “protect” Maani from McSweeney.
The next month, at the same steakhouse, Jones III allegedly recommended that Katz be paid $15 an hour, and Maani confirmed he would pay Katz based on 20 hours worked per week.
Jones III allegedly suggested that Maani sponsor an event in a bid to disguise the separate $5,000 payment. Prosecutors say Jones III told Maani he was not as worried about the $5,000 as he was with the job for Katz.
Maani allegedly said he would help Katz “100%.” The feds say he then added, “And like I said before, if you could just help me out with the, ah, the study, to make it to Chicago.”
“You’re good,” Jones III allegedly responded, later adding, “Ah, if I do file that bill, it will only be for Chicago.”
Jones III never amended his bill. It cleared the transportation committee and got a second reading in the Senate in November 2019. Senators never took a final vote, and the bill eventually died.
Prosecutors say Maani paid Katz $1,800 over six weeks, though. They say Maani handed over the money even though Katz did no work for Maani, or for SafeSpeed.