The one-time chief of staff for Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan was sentenced to two-and-a-half years behind bars on Monday for lying to a grand jury while under oath.
Timothy Maples apparently lied to the grand jury to protect Madigan. He was convicted of the charges against him last year, including attempted obstruction of justice and making false declarations before a grand jury.
In announcing the sentence, U.S. District Judge John Kness said:
“I don’t understand why. You were immunized by the grand jury, and all you had to do was go in and tell the truth. You knew the testimony was false. … I can’t ignore that finding.”
Mapes must report to jail by the middle of June to start his sentence, according to the judge.
Kness further said that he believed Mapes was motivated by a sense of loyalty to Madigan when he lied to a grand jury. But, he pointed out that was a big mistake.
As the judge said to him:
“Your loyalty was misguided, and now you will pay the price for that.”
During the trial, prosecutors argued that Mapes lied on multiple occasions to his 2021 grand jury testimony as part of an investigation that targeted Madigan and some other people.
Specifically, prosecutors said he lied when he told them he wasn’t able to recall any of the relevant details about Madigan having ties to Michael McClain, who was proven to be a confidant for the former state House speaker.
One witness in the case, who is also a legislator in the state, told the grand jury that Madigan, McClain and Mapes formed “a mighty triumvirate” that Madigan led. Working together, they were able to control what legislation was able to make its way through the Illinois legislature.
As part of the evidence that it produced in the case, the government presented wiretapped phone recordings of Mapes as well as audio of his grand jury testimony.
During the closing arguments in the trial, prosecutor Julia Schwartz said of Mapes:
“He did everything he could to obstruct the process … to minimize his participation, to act as if he was clueless.”
Andrew Porter, Mapes’ attorney in the case, argued in the closing arguments that his client didn’t have any reason to lie to protect Madigan after his old boss forced his resignation back in 2018 over allegations of harassment — claims that Mapes denied.
Porter asked the jury rhetorically:
“Why would he fall on his sword for a guy who kicked him to the curb three years before?”
In May, the federal jury convicted all four defendants in the case of bribery conspiracy that involved the largest electric utility in Illinois. McClain, two former executives of ComEd and a consultant for a utility company who arranged money, jobs and contracts for associates of Madigan were convicted in that case.
One year before Madison was indicted, he resigned from the state Legislature, as there were rumors that he was a target of federal investigations.
He was indicted in 2022 along with McClain in a separate racketeering case that alleged he sold his office of House speaker for his own personal gain. The trial is scheduled to start in October.
