Feds raid home of ex-Ald. Zalewski, an ally of Madigan
Action is second involving associates of state House speaker
Federal agents have raided the home of a second ally of Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan, this time former Southwest Side Ald. Michael R. Zalewski, his attorney said Saturday.
Thomas Breen, the former 23rd Ward alderman’s lawyer, confirmed that a search warrant was carried out at Zalewski’s home. Breen told the Tribune that he could not comment further.
“Michael has been known to be a hardworking straight shooter his entire life. We do not think that this investigation will change his good reputation,” Breen said Saturday.
Citing unnamed sources, the Better Government Association and WBEZ-FM 91.5 reported Friday that the Zalewski raid involved an attempt to get work for Zalewski at ComEd and “interactions” between Madigan, Zalewski and Mike McClain, a veteran former ComEd lobbyist and Madigan confidant. None could be reached for comment.
ComEd released a statement confirming that it had received a federal grand jury subpoena “requiring production of information concerning its lobbying activities in the State of Illinois. Exelon and ComEd have pledged to cooperate fully and are cooperating fully with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in expeditiously providing the requested information.”
Asked whether the subpoena was related to efforts to get Zalewski lobbying work, a ComEd spokeswoman declined comment. ComEd routinely employs a large team of lobbyists at the Capitol and historically is one of the largest campaign contributors to Illinois politicians.
Zalewski has been a registered lobbyist in Springfield for all but a couple of years since 2001. He is not listed as a lobbyist for ComEd or Exelon. The village of Bridgeview is a longtime client, and he once registered to lobby for Hawthorne Racecourse in Cicero.
Public records indicate Zalewski, who was making more than $114,000 a year as an alderman, has been having money problems recently. The IRS filed two liens totaling $185,634 against Zalewski for unpaid taxes in the past two years, records show. The most recent, filed in March, was for $99,770. The IRS last November filed a lien for $85,864.
It wasn’t the first time Zalewski had faced financial difficulties. In 2001, he and his wife, Mildred, filed for bankruptcy, which they emerged from a year later.
The former alderman paid Breen’s law firm $25,000 in May out of his aldermanic and 23rd Ward committeeman funds, state campaign finance records show. Zalewski, the former Aviation Committee chairman, announced in April 2018 that he was stepping down and wouldn’t seek another term this year.
In recent weeks, several calls to the former alderman and his son, Democratic state Rep. Michael J. Zalewski of Riverside, were not returned.
The Zalewski search warrant was executed in May, around the same time federal agents raided the Far South Side home of Kevin Quinn, a former top Madigan political operative, the Tribune first reported last month.
It’s unclear what information the agents were seeking or whether the raid stemmed from Quinn’s past work with Madigan’s powerful political organization. One source, however, told the Tribune that federal agents had shown interest in computers and electronic equipment.
No charges have been filed against Quinn. Neither Quinn nor Madigan has commented.
The raid on Quinn’s and Zalewski’s homes come amid ongoing corruption probes at City Hall, including the bombshell racketeering indictment filed late last month against Ald. Edward Burke, the council’s longest-serving member who was accused of using his clout to steer business to his private law firm.
Burke has pleaded not guilty. Ex-Ald. Daniel Solis was revealed to have been wearing a wire for the FBI for two years as part of the Burke probe but has not been charged.
A 2016 FBI search warrant affidavit filed as part of the Solis investigation detailed an alleged effort by Solis to send legal work to Madigan from an undisclosed businessman seeking to develop a hotel in Chinatown. Madigan, who was secretly recorded pitching his property tax appeal services, has denied any wrongdoing and has not been charged.
Meanwhile, the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners voted in December to refer to federal and county prosecutors a controversy involving the re-election bid of Kevin Quinn’s brother, 13th Ward Ald. Marty Quinn.
The alderman’s team tried to knock off the ballot challenger David Krupa, a teenage DePaul University student.
To do that, the alderman’s campaign challenged Krupa’s signatures and included affidavits from 2,796 residents who said they were revoking their signatures for Krupa. But only 187 of them matched signatures contained in Krupa’s paperwork.