Trump & Law Enforcement In Chicago For Partnerships & Indictments

Remember, it is all about the psyoptics and timing.

Did someone say Rahm Emanuel?

Feds allege state Rep. Luis Arroyo caught on undercover recording paying $2,500 bribe. ‘This is the jackpot.’

State Rep. Luis Arroyo, leaves the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse in Chicago on Oct. 28, 2019. Arroyo has been charged for allegedly agreeing to pay a state senator $2,500 a month in bribes in exchange for the senator’s support on legislation involving video gambling sweepstakes games that would benefit one of Arroyo’s lobbying clients.

State Rep. Luis Arroyo was supposed to be with his fellow lawmakers in Springfield on Monday for the first day of the busy fall veto session.

Instead, the Chicago Democrat was ducking reporters as he left the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse in Chicago, where he was the latest elected official to be charged in what’s become a sprawling federal public corruption investigation.

Arroyo, 65, an assistant majority leader who has been in office since 2006, was charged with one count of federal program bribery alleging he agreed to pay a state senator $2,500 a month in kickbacks in exchange for the senator’s support on legislation involving video gambling sweepstakes games that would benefit one of Arroyo’s lobbying clients.

The 13-page criminal complaint, made public Monday, revealed that the undisclosed state senator allegedly targeted by Arroyo first began cooperating with the FBI in 2016 but was terminated as a confidential source after it was revealed he had filed false income tax returns.

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The senator later agreed to cooperate with the FBI again in the hopes for a break at sentencing on expected tax fraud charges, according to the complaint.

The senator was wearing a wire when Arroyo delivered the first of the promised $2,500 checks at a restaurant in Skokie on Aug. 22, the charges said.

“This is, this is the jackpot,” the complaint quoted Arroyo as telling the senator as he handed over the check.

Additional monthly $2,500 payments were expected to be made over the next six to 12 months, federal authorities alleged.

The charge against Arroyo marked the latest in a series of ongoing federal probes that have rocked political circles from Chicago to Springfield. Arroyo is the third elected official to be charged so far, joining longtime Chicago Ald. Edward Burke and state Sen. Thomas Cullerton.

Records show the FBI is also investigating state Sen. Martin Sandoval, Cook County Commissioner and McCook Mayor Jeff Tobolski, Lyons Mayor Chris Getty, Chicago Ald. Carrie Austin and officials in the suburbs of Summit and Cicero.

A separate probe delving into the lobbying practices of utility giant Commonwealth Edison has led to FBI raids on current and former lawmakers and political operatives, including several who are close confidants of House Speaker Michael Madigan.

None of those officials has been charged.

Arroyo, meanwhile, made his initial appearance in federal court Monday morning on one count of federal program bribery.

Clad in a gray suit with his hands folded in front of him, Arroyo answered “Yes” in a low voice when U.S. Magistrate Judge Maria Valdez asked if he understood his constitutional rights.

Arroyo, who was released on his own recognizance, was ordered to have no contact with anyone involved in the charges, including the senator and an undisclosed business owner whom Arroyo was allegedly trying to assist in the scheme.

Arroyo left the downtown courthouse without comment Monday afternoon, hurrying past reporters and cameramen into a waiting SUV that sped off down Dearborn Street. His lawyer, Michael Gillespie, also had no comment.

Arroyo’s court appearance came not long before the state House convened in Springfield for the first day of the fall veto session.

Madigan, the powerful Chicago Democrat, and House GOP leader Jim Durkin of Western Springs both called on Arroyo to step down or each vowed to begin the process to remove him from office under House rules. Madigan said he’d been told by Arroyo’s attorney that the legislator planned to resign as chair of the House Appropriations-Capital Committee.

“The actions today go to the heart of public trust in state government,” Durkin said. “Today begins the process of cleaning up this chamber.”

Madigan issued a statement calling for the strengthening of state ethics and lobbying laws. As he left a meeting Monday of the House Democratic caucus, a reporter asked about federal investigators seeking information about Madigan in a subpoena and search warrant served on the City Club of Chicago as part of a probe into whether ComEd hired politically connected lobbyists to curry favor with lawmakers in exchange for favorable action at the Illinois Capitol.

“I’m not a target of anything,” Madigan said.

According to the charges unveiled Monday, the undisclosed state senator told the FBI that Arroyo had approached him about "the passage of sweepstakes-related legislation” during the House’s spring session.

Arroyo is a manager of a lobbying firm called Spartacus 3 LLC, which includes as a client the owner of a company involved in video sweepstakes machines, according to the complaint.

In early August, Arroyo texted the senator asking to meet at a restaurant in Highland Park, according to the complaint. Also at the meeting was the company owner, identified only as Individual A, as well as one of the owner’s associates.

During the meeting, Arroyo said he was going to introduce a “trailer bill” in the veto session expanding the use of sweepstakes games and offered to make periodic payments to the senator in exchange for his support, according to the complaint. Arroyo told the businessman during the conversation that he wouldn’t be able to enlist the senator’s support unless it was legal.

“I cannot work as a legislator with somebody if it’s illegal,” Arroyo was quoted as saying. “I just can’t. ... I cannot be part of something illegal. That’s just like being part of the mob or being part of a gang that’s selling drugs.”

Arroyo then asked the senator to “carry the bill,” explaining that he doesn’t “have nobody in the Senate.”

After the senator told Arroyo to send him some language for the proposed bill, the two politicians left the table to speak privately, carrying on their conversation outside the restaurant as FBI agents conducted surveillance, according to the complaint.

“This is you and I talkin’ now. Nobody else," the senator said, according to the complaint.

“Whatever you tell me stays between you and me,” Arroyo allegedly responded. “That’s my word.”

During their purportedly private talk, the senator told Arroyo he was “in the twilight” of his career and was “looking for something" to bolster his income. Arroyo said he would “make sure that you’re rewarded for what you do, for what we’re gonna do moving forward,” the complaint alleged.

“Let’s be clear ... my word is my bond and my, my reputation,” Arroyo allegedly said.

Three weeks later, on Aug. 22, Arroyo and the senator met at the Skokie restaurant, the complaint alleged. Arroyo made the “jackpot” comment as he handed over the $2,500 check — written to a third party to disguise the purpose for the payoff, according to the charges.

“I’m not too happy about doing this, but I’m doin’ it for ya," the senator said near the end of the conversation.

“I know you’re not,” Arroyo allegedly replied.

Born in Puerto Rico in 1954, Arroyo migrated to New York with his family at age 5 and moved to Chicago as a teen, according to the biography on his district website. He began his career in public service as an employee with the city’s water department before being appointed to his House seat in 2006 and winning election two years later.

In recent years, Arroyo has fought former Cook County Democratic Party Chairman Joe Berrios for political control on the city’s Northwest Side.

Arroyo backed Milly Santiago in 2015 for alderman of the 31st Ward, Berrios’ original base. She defeated longtime incumbent Ray Suarez, a close ally of Berrios. Santiago also was backed by Cook County Commissioner Luis Arroyo Jr., the representative’s son.

Earlier this year, Felix Cardona Jr., who worked under Berrios at the Cook County assessor’s office, defeated Santiago to become 31st Ward alderman.

The father and son also backed Ald. Gilbert Villegas in his first run in 2015. He beat a Berrios-backed candidate in that 36th Ward race.

When Berrios stepped down as Democratic Party chairman after losing his primary bid for another term as county assessor, the elder Arroyo initially ran for party chairman, pulling out of that contest when it became clear Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, a Berrios’ ally, would win.

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FBI Sandoval Raids Continue In Illinois

It seems the Illinois FBI will be busy, busy, busy for quite some time.

Federal Agents Raid Village Halls In McCook, Lyons 

LYONS, Ill. (CBS) — Federal agents raided the village halls in southwest suburban McCook and neighboring Lyons on Thursday, the FBI confirmed.

The FBI also raided Getty Insurance on Ogden Avenue in Lyons, which according to the Village of Lyons website is owned by the family of Lyons Mayor Christopher Getty. The mayor serves as president of the agency.

It was unclear Thursday afternoon whether Getty was personally a target of the investigation.

The FBI Chicago office confirmed agents were “conducting an authorized law enforcement action” at the McCook and Lyons village halls, but declined further comment.

The FBI also confirmed they were at the Summit Village Hall for investigative activity Thursday afternoon. The agency characterized their visit to Summit differently from those to Lyons, McCook, and the insurance agency.

As night fell Thursday, there was still no clarity on what the FBI was looking for or if the raids were connected, CBS 2’s Chris Tye reported.

Jeff Tobolski is the mayor of McCook and is also a Cook County commissioner, but it’s unclear if the investigation is tied directly to him. CBS 2 has confirmed that Mayor Tobolski called in sick and bought everybody lunch on Thursday.

The raids in McCook and Lyons come two days after federal agents raided Illinois State Sen. Martin Sandoval’s office at the Illinois State Capitol in Springfield and his home in the Gage Park neighborhood on Tuesday.

McCook and Lyons are part of Sandoval’s district, but it is unclear of the two investigations are related.

However, the Sandoval, Getty, and Tobolski are political allies who have contributed to each other’s campaigns for elected office.

Campaign finance records show, since 2010, Sandoval has donated at least $2,000 to Tobolski’s campaign fund, Friends of Jeffrey Tobolski.

Since 2009, Tobolski has made at least eight donations totaling $17,250 combined to Sandoval’s campaign fund, Friends of Martin A. Sandoval; and the campaign fund for Sandoval’s daughter, Angie, who ran for the county board in 2018.

Since 2010, Tobolski had made at least 10 donations to Getty’s campaign fund, Citizens for Christopher Getty, totaling $10,750.

Getty donated $250 to Sandoval’s campaign in 2011, and has made at least 12 donations to Tobolski’s campaign fund since 2010, totaling $4,050.

The politicians’ donating to each other’s campaigns is completely legal, but they demonstrate the political support between them.

The FBI told CBS 2 that no more raids were expected Thursday night.

CBS 2 also reached out to all the key players mentioned in this report. None returned our calls.

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Illinois Senator Sandoval Gets Raided By FBI & IRS

FUN FACT! THE CHICAGO FEDERAL RESERVE IS IN DETROIT

Federal agents raid Springfield, Cicero offices of Illinois Sen. Martin Sandoval, source says

Federal agents on Tuesday raided the Springfield and Cicero offices of longtime Democratic state Sen. Martin Sandoval as well as his family’s Southwest Side home as part of an ongoing criminal investigation.

Investigators are looking into allegations Sandoval used his official position to steer business to at least one company in exchange for kickbacks, a source with knowledge of the case told the Chicago Tribune.

No criminal charges had been filed. Sandoval, who has been in office for 17 years and chairs the influential Senate Transportation Committee, could not be reached on Tuesday, and calls to his office were not returned.

In what has become a familiar scene in Illinois, FBI and IRS agents spent hours behind closed doors in Sandoval’s offices in the state capitol, where an agent stationed in a nearby hallway turned back a Tribune reporter seeking comment.

Shortly after 12:30 p.m., at least eight men left the Senate Democratic offices carrying cardboard boxes, two brown bags labeled “evidence” and what appeared to be a desktop computer wrapped in plastic. News cameras rolled as the agents left the building, loaded the material into two SUVs and drove off.

At about the same time nearly 200 miles away, agents executed search warrants at Sandoval’s district office in the 5800 block of West 35th Street in Cicero, as well as his longtime family home in Gage Park, sources told the Tribune.

A man who answered the door at Sandoval’s brick, three-story building Tuesday said the legislator was not home. Later, two officials with duty belts and handcuffs came out of the home to get wheeled hand trucks, taking them inside. One identified himself as from the IRS criminal division.

An FBI spokesman confirmed that agents were at the capitol conducting “authorized law enforcement activity,” but declined to comment further.

The raids marked the latest in a slew of ongoing public corruption probes that have sent shock waves from City Hall to Springfield over the past 10 months.

In November 2018, the FBI took over the City Hall offices of longtime Ald. Edward Burke, who at the time was the powerful chairman of the Finance Committee, and papered over windows with brown butcher paper before leaving down a back staircase with computers and files. Burke has since been indicted on sweeping racketeering charges alleging he used his clout to steer business to his private law firm. He has pleaded not guilty.

In June, a similar scene played out when agents executed search warrants at the Far South Side ward office of influential Ald. Carrie Austin, 34th, the second longest-serving active member of the City Council. Austin has not been charged.

Sandoval is also the second state senator to come under the cloud of a federal investigation.

Last month, his colleague Sen. Thomas E. Cullerton of Villa Park was indicted on embezzlement charges alleging he pocketed almost $275,000 in salary and benefits from the Teamsters union despite doing little or no work. Cullerton has pleaded not guilty.

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Born in the Back of the Yards neighborhood on the city’s South Side, Sandoval, 55, first won election to the Senate in 2002 with the support of former Mayor Richard M. Daley and the now-defunct Hispanic Democratic Organization, a patronage army that crumbled amid a federal investigation into hiring practices at City Hall.

Controversy has often dogged Sandoval’s political career. In 2011, Sandoval was among a handful of lawmakers whose legislative scholarship records were reviewed by federal authorities after state education officials sent them over. The centuryold scholarship program, long riddled with abuse, eventually was abolished.

Last month, Sandoval faced national criticism after photos showing a man pointing a fake gun used as a novelty beverage dispenser at someone wearing a mask depicting President Donald Trump were taken at a political fundraiser hosted by the senator and posted on social media.

Sandoval apologized, said he wasn’t aware of the incident when it occurred and blamed it on a vendor hired to provide music and entertainment.

Sandoval currently makes $80,038 as a legislator, including a stipend of $10,574 for his committee chairmanship, state records show.

He serves a Southwest Side district that shares half of its territory with powerful House Speaker Michael Madigan, a Chicago Democrat who has worked with Sandoval over the years on a variety of legislative issues but also been at odds with the senator at times.

In the March 2018 Democratic primary, Sandoval supported the candidacy of his daughter, Angie Sandoval, for the county board seat vacated by Jesus “Chuy” Garcia when he ran for Congress. Madigan’s 13th Ward organization, however, went with the victorious Alma Anaya, who was supported by Garcia.

As Senate transportation chairman, Sandoval was positioned to play a key role in implementing the massive $45 billion construction program pushed through the General Assembly and signed into law by Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker earlier this year.

But his position on the committee has also drawn criticism. In 2015and 2016, Sandoval interceded on behalf of a campaign donor that stood to make millions off red light cameras at an intersection straddling Oak Brook and Oakbrook Terrace, the Tribune has reported.

The Illinois Department of Transportation originally said the intersection was too safe to need cameras, but Sandoval asked IDOT to change its mind. At one point, Sandoval told IDOT he wanted to help the agency but “wasn’t getting the type of cooperation on his issues that he would like to see,” according to emails uncovered by the newspaper.

IDOT then approved Oakbrook Terrace’s application.

Meanwhile, Safespeed, the company that had lobbied for the cameras, and its owners collectively donated tens of thousands of dollars to Sandoval’s campaign coffers, including one contribution for $10,000 in September 2016 that at the time was the largest single donation the firm had given anyone.

Oak Brook later passed an ordinance complaining the cameras were part of a process that sought to "corrupt local law enforcement” and enrich political leaders, but the village eventually dropped a lawsuit seeking to ban the cameras from the corner.

Oakbrook Terrace Mayor Tony Ragucci told the Tribune on Tuesday that the village has not received any requests for information from federal authorities related to the camera controversy.

The chief critic of the deal — Oak Brook council member Michael Manzo — said he still believes the cameras should be taken down. When asked if he’s spoken with the FBI, he declined comment.

More recently, Sandoval was named in a federal lawsuit alleging the senator used his influence as Transportation Committee chairman to get his son a job in 2016 as a community relations representative at Pace Suburban Bus Service.

The plaintiff, Lawrence Gress of Dowers Grove, alleged he was subjected to a “sham interview” and passed over for the job in favor of Sandoval’s son, Martin Sandoval II, who is some 40 years younger and vastly less experienced.

Pace has denied the allegations, which include a civil racketeering conspiracy. An attorney for Sandoval could not be reached immediately.

With Tuesday’s raids, Sandoval became the latest political associate of Madigan to face federal scrutiny.

In mid-May, the FBI raided the homes of former lobbyist Mike McClain of Quincy, a longtime Madigan confidant, and ex-23rd Ward Ald. Michael Zalewski.

The information the FBI was seeking included records of communications among Madigan, McClain and Zalewski related to attempts to get ComEd lobbying work for Zalewski, the Tribune has reported.

Sandoval’s daughter, Angie, works for ComEd as a senior account representative.

Also in mid-May, the FBI raided the Chicago home of Ald. Marty Quinn’s brother, Kevin Quinn, a political and government operative Madigan parted ways with last year amid sexual harassment allegations. One source told the Tribune the federal government showed an interest in computers in Kevin Quinn’s home.

Last month, the Tribune disclosed that a Cook County grand jury has subpoenaed election records regarding the reelection bid of Madigan’s handpicked Ald. Marty Quinn, who serves in the Southwest Side ward where Madigan has reigned as committeeman for decades.

Sandoval’s political connection to Madigan was solidified in 2011, when his Senate district was redrawn following the census to overlap with Madigan’s House district.

Under the mapmaking, which Madigan oversaw with Senate President John Cullerton, D-Chicago — a distant cousin to Thomas Cullerton — the speaker was placed in a growing Latino district on the Southwest Side.

At the time, Sandoval embraced the move.

“The Irish and the Latinos have had a long history of shared immigrant values, hard work ethic and religious faith,” Sandoval told the Tribune in 2011. “We’re both White Sox fans, and now we’ll share a majority Hispanic district. I look forward to having the Madigans over for a traditional home-style Mexican barbecue."

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