CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) - Chicago's current top federal prosecutor says his office will continue to pursue allegations of government corruption, but there are questions about whether the Trump administration will be behind him.
While the federal case against former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan was winding down, President Trump was directing the Justice Department to drop the corruption case against New York City Mayor Eric Adams.
The suggestion is that the DOJ will be less inclined to pursue such cases now. But, Morris Pasqual, acting U.S. attorney here in Chicago, says he’s been told nothing of the sort.
“As long as I’m standing as acting U.S. attorney, I’m very confident we’re going to pursue those, and I trust that my successor will be of like mind. As you know, this district has a longstanding and historic tradition of public corruption cases, going way back to Otto Kerner and before that, and our public corruption assistance here, together with the agents, are committed to these investigations,” Pasqual says
The question comes after every big public corruption trial: Will even the conviction of Mike Madigan be enough to persuade other politicians not to do wrong? Pasqual, here in Chicago, can only hope.
“Enormous resources and enormous time went into investigating and prosecuting, what was really in many ways, a very sophisticated form of bribery,” says Pasqual. “I hope the message comes out that people, if they’re tempted to start down that path, whether its the old fashioned bribery or something more refined in practice, will look at this as a sign that the federal government is out there and is actively looking for leads, and we’re committed to pursuing any sort of public corruption lead that comes our way.”
A longtime Republican official is not so sure.
Pat Brady was chairman of the State GOP from 2009 to about 2013. He’s also been a federal prosecutor. He paid close attention to the investigations and trial of Madigan. Does he believe the conviction will have an impact on Illinois politics?
“He’s been out for three years and gone and out of power, and the good news is that [Illinois House] Speaker [Chris] Welch doesn’t run things like Madigan did…To me, this is the most significant political corruption case in my lifetime because Maddigan was in charge for 40 years, and the jury found that he operated this state not for the benefit of the citizens of Illinois, but for his own benefit, and guilty beyond a reasonable doubt on a lot of the most serious charges,” says Brady.
He thinks it may even make some politicians think twice before misbehaving.
“I think this one might make a difference just because it was really a reflection of old school politics and how people ran things, and that era is over,” Brady says. “I’m sure we’ll be back here again, but I’m hoping that message gets delivered because the reality is taxpayers pay for all this corruption.”
That’s a bipartisan concern.
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