Former Ald. CarrieAustin is now receiving more than $9,500 per month in pension payments for the rest of her life, according to records obtained by WTTW News from the Municipal Employees’ Annuity and Benefit Fund of Chicago. If Austin is convicted, she could lose her pension, since her conduct occurred as part of her official duties as an alderperson.
Corruption
Ald. Carrie Austin, 73, who did not seek a seventh term on the Chicago City Council, stepped down the day after Chicago voters went to the polls to pick a new mayor and City Council.
Surveillance conducted by FBI agents in recent weeks shows Austin is “not gravely ill,” but has a busy schedule and is “alert, lucid and responsive” and able to move about on her own without assistance, according to court records.
Austin, 73, pleaded not guilty to charges that she accepted bribes from a developer and lied to FBI agents. Indicted in July 2021, Austin has never appeared in person before Judge John Kness because of her ill health and restrictions put in place to stop the spread of COVID-19.
Former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan and his longtime associate Michael McClain entered not guilty pleas Tuesday morning on new charges stemming from their alleged involvement in a corruption scheme involving AT&T Illinois.
A vote on a measure that would strip members of the Chicago City Council of their authority to ban commercial property owners from hiring a firms to patrol their parking lots and swiftly immobilize cars that are parked there illegally was delayed. A familiar lobbyist and campaign cash factor into the debate.
State Sen. Emil Jones III, D-Chicago, pleaded not guilty Friday to charges he took a $5,000 bribe from a firm that installed red-light cameras throughout the state and lied to Federal Bureau of Investigation agents.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker, who is running for re-election, said it was not enough for the lawmakers to resign as leaders of the Democratic Party in the Illlinois Senate.
The charges against state Sen. Emil Jones III were made public by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Northern District of Illinois through an information, a court document that is typically filed in cases where the defendant has indicated they plan to plead guilty.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Amarjeet Bhachu said former Ald. Danny Solis is one of the most significant government informants and witnesses of the last several decades.
Former Ald. Danny Solis caused “generational” harm to Chicago and residents of the 25th Ward, his successor told the judge overseeing the criminal case facing the disgraced former alderperson.
Chicago officials will get a chance to argue that the entire city was victimized by former Ald. Danny Solis, who is set to avoid prison and keep his city pension after helping investigators probe other politicians.
Disgraced former Ald. Danny Solis is scheduled to be arraigned on one charge of bribery Wednesday morning by Judge Andrea Wood. But Solis will not be facing down the prospect of a long prison sentence if convicted.
Former Ald. Danny Solis was charged with taking money from an unidentified real estate developer when he was chair of the City Council Zoning Committee in 2015.
Longtime U.S. Congressman Dan Rostenkowski famously called Chicago politics “blood sport.” We raise a glass to one of Chicago's own (who also happened to have one of the all-time great heads of political hair) with a Polish twist on a classic cocktail.
In 2010, Robert Blagojevich was on trial alongside his brother, former Gov. Rod Blagojevich, on corruption charges. All of the charges against Robert were dropped while his brother would have a retrial. Robert discusses the details of the first trial and his current relationship with his brother.
