After a guilty plea and cooperation with federal authorities, William Helm, a longtime Chicago political operator, was given an 18-month sentence in federal prison on bribery charges, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. Assistant U.S. Attorney Paige Nutini attributed the lighter sentence to Helm’s “extensive cooperation” in continuing cases, even though standards recommended a sentence of three to four years. Details of this cooperation, however, were deleted from the sentence memo and kept private.
Nutini stressed at the Dirksen federal courthouse that Helm had been compliant during his pretrial release since his indictment in March 2020, had quickly acknowledged his wrongdoing, and had no notable criminal history. In that instance, Helm was found guilty of avoiding taxes by around $9,300 and bribing the late state senator Martin Sandoval. As part of a plan involving a red-light camera firm and an East Dundee development project, Helm consented to give Sandoval a portion of his $20,000 consulting fee in exchange for his assistance in his capacity as chairman of the transportation committee.
Helm apologized and applied for probation to take care of his ailing father, who is 81 years old and suffering from Alzheimer’s and dementia. “It’s true that decent individuals occasionally make poor choices. I’ve done that, too. And I really apologize for it,” Helm told the court, as reported by the Sun-Times. Judge Elaine E. Bucklo, however, retorted that probation would not “serve the interests of the citizens of Illinois” and that Helm’s actions “undermine our trust in government.” Helm was also mandated to perform 200 hours of community service and given a probationary period of one year after his release from prison.
Fidel Marquez, a former ComEd executive who is now an informant, is describing his role in contract and job schemes intended to gain favor with former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan as his federal corruption trial begins. Marquez pled guilty to federal bribery charges after testifying for several days about the arrangements that resulted in his cooperation with the FBI against Madigan, according to CBS News Chicago.
Marquez described wiretapped emails and phone conversations that revealed the interactions with Madigan and his associate Michael McClain during his testimony. Marquez maintained his guilty plea in the face of opposition from Madigan’s lawyers, acknowledging his involvement in allocating contracts, jobs, and money to Madigan’s political advantage. “It was annoying to deal with, yes,” Marquez stated in reference to McClain’s repeated requests for internships and job placements. Madigan is accused of using his political positions for both personal and professional gain, and he is charged with federal bribery, conspiracy, racketeering, and wire fraud. Danny Solis, a former FBI mole, is also likely to testify during the trial, which is slated to go into December.
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