Politics

Feds Dismiss Bribery Charge Against Ex-Ald. Solis As Part of ‘Unprecedented’ Deal for Testifying Against Burke, Madigan

A federal judge “anticlimactically dismissed” the lone criminal charge facing disgraced former Ald. Danny Solis — who admitted taking bribes as the powerful chair of Chicago’s Zoning Committee — as part of an “unprecedented” deal that means he will avoid prison and keep his city pension.

The ruling by U.S. District Court Judge Edmond E. Chang, issued Wednesday, came without a hearing, more than a month after federal prosecutors moved to hold up their end of the bargain that helped convict former House Speaker Michael Madigan and former Ald. Ed Burke (14th Ward), once two of Illinois most powerful politicians, of corruption.

The deferred prosecution agreement ensured that Solis avoided a trial and will keep his city pension, which paid him nearly $109,000 last year.

During a 2022 court hearing, former assistant U.S. Attorney Amarjeet Bhachu delivered a lengthy and at times impassioned defense of the agreement with Solis, acknowledging that it was a deal that had “little precedent” despite the deep and entrenched history of corruption in Illinois.

“What Mr. Solis did also was with little precedent,” Bhachu said during the hearing conducted by phone. “He didn’t just talk. He took action. He worked with the federal government for six years to expose corruption.”

Solis agreed to work as a government informant after he was accused by federal agents of accepting sex acts, Viagra, free weekend use of an Indiana farm once owned by Oprah Winfrey and a steady stream of campaign contributions in return for City Council actions, as first reported by the Chicago Sun-Times.

Solis recorded hundreds of hours of conversations as part of investigations against Madigan and Burke and testified against both of his former friends and colleagues.

Solis admitted taking a total of $15,000 from three executives of an unidentified firm in August and September 2015, shortly before and after he supported the zoning change that they requested and shepherded it through the City Council. He also demanded that the executives attend fundraisers for his campaign and solicit contributions from other people.

Those details match the Michigan Avenue Real Estate Group’s efforts in 2015 to win Solis’ approval for a $40 million apartment complex on what was once Carmichael’s steakhouse, approximately a mile from the United Center, as detailed by the Sun-Times in October 2019.

That development was approved by the Chicago City Council in September 2015, with Solis’ support. Such a change would likely have failed to advance to the full City Council without the powerful alderperson’s support, since the unwritten tradition of aldermanic prerogative gave Solis a veto over the proposal.

Solis recorded conversations he had with Burke about the renovation of the Old Post Office and whether Burke could get any tax work from the developers, the New York-based 601 West Companies.

In one instance, Burke asked Solis “So, did we, uh, land the tuna?”

When Burke grew frustrated that 601 West had not yet hired his firm, he said in another call that “if we’re not signed up, we’re not going to do heavy lifting,” before adding that the “cash register has not rung yet.”

Solis testified for approximately three hours after being called as a witness by Burke’s defense lawyers and admitted he was trying to “save himself” by recording his longtime colleague.

“I was trying to help myself by recording Ed Burke,” Solis said. “But I wasn’t trying to get him to say a particular thing.”

Burke is serving a two-year prison sentence after being convicted on 13 counts of racketeering, bribery and attempted extortion, after a landmark corruption trial late last year that delivered a searing indictment not just of his conduct but also of Chicago’s political system. He is due to be released in March 2026.

Before U.S. District Court Judge Virginia Kendall sentenced Burke, she said she was “uncomfortable” that Solis would spend no time in prison, after helping to convict Burke.

Solis spent parts of six days in November and December 2024 on the witness stand in Madigan’s trial, where he detailed for jurors the longtime speaker’s alleged efforts to illegally steer business to his private property tax law firm, Madigan & Getzendanner, amid efforts to develop various Chicago properties.

Madigan also allegedly agreed to help Solis find a valuable position on a state board in exchange for Solis funneling tax work to Madigan’s firm.

Madigan was convicted on six charges tied to that board seat. Ultimately, though, the jury failed to convict him on nine charges related to those schemes.

Madigan’s defense team painted Solis as an opportunist and a liar who would do whatever it took to keep himself out of prison.

“We all have regrets in life,” said Madigan while testifying in his own defense. “And one of my regrets is that I ever had any time spent with Danny Solis.”

Madigan is scheduled to be sentenced June 13.

WTTW News’ Matt Masterson and Jared Rutecki contributed to this report.

Contact Heather Cherone: @HeatherCherone | (773) 569-1863 | [email protected]

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