(CAPITOL NEWS ILLINOIS) – On the eve of his retirement announcement in late 2016, longtime Statehouse lobbyist Mike McClain wrote letters to his longtime colleagues expressing appreciation.

In a letter shown to four federal juries over the past two years, McClain effusively praised his close friend, then-Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan, referring to him as his “true client” and saying “at the end of the day, I stand with the Madigan family and stand with my rifle for them.” “I’m on the bridge.”

McClain also adopted war language in another letter to Kevin Quinn, the Madigan campaign stalwart. Underneath the note, quoting the memoirs of United Nations Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjöld, McClain wrote an additional message to Quinn, ending with a handwritten instruction:

“Please stay in cover with the speaker!”

Less than two and a half years later, FBI agents would collect the letter while searching Quinn’s Chicago home as evidence of the feds’ massive investigation into Madigan and his inner circle. A jury on Monday saw the letter as prosecutors began their third week of presenting evidence in their bribery and racketeering case against Madigan and McClain.

But in the time between McClain’s retirement letter and the FBI raid in May 2019, it was Quinn who benefited from the platoon-like loyalty of his Madigan aides.

Quinn was expelled from the speaker’s political organization after he was publicly accused of sexual harassment at the height of the #MeToo movement in early 2018. McClain arranged for payments to be made to Quinn later that year from a small group of lobbyists close to the speaker, jurors heard for the first time last week.

On Monday, the jury heard more calls from the day McClain arranged the payments in late August 2018. The first call was made to longtime Democratic House member-turned-lobbyist John Bradley, who was less than eager to agree with McClain’s plan. “It was something so sensitive that it could really hurt us.”

But he still agreed to lobby for Quinn himself and receive $1,000 monthly checks from his law firm; the jury saw it Monday along with checks from McClain and three others.

“I want you in the room,” McClain told Bradley.

Bradley responded by joking, “Thanks Hamilton”; This was an apparent reference to the Broadway musical “Hamilton,” which was still at its peak of popularity in 2018.

After several calls on the morning of August 28, 2018, McClain spoke with Madigan.

“So Mr. President, I’ve put together four or five people who would like to contribute a monthly benefit for the next six months, just like I told you about Kevin Quinn,” McClain said, before asking if Madigan wanted to tell Quinn’s brother . Chicago Ald. Marty Quinn on the deal or whether he should make it.

“Yes, I think I should stay out of it,” the speaker replied.

McClain then called Ald. Quinn said he also “preferred to remain private” about the payments made to his brother.

Chicago Tribune first reported The feds’ interest in checks McClain arranged for Quinn in 2019 cited emails sent to the group, thanking them for their “wonderful sacrifice” and warning Quinn to “keep all this secret.”

Madigan vehemently denied involvement in McClain’s efforts to pay Quinn after the Tribune’s report. Last week, defense attorney Daniel Collins set the table for continued denial during cross-examination of another participant in the payments to Quinn, longtime Madigan employee-turned-lobbyist Will Cousineau. Will Cousineau said he was “confused” about whether the speaker actually knew about these payments. The scope of McClain’s plan.

Quinn’s accuser, political strategist Alaina Hampton, is expected to testify as early as this week.

Also Monday, the jury heard more wiretap footage from the tense hours and days after Madigan fired his longtime chief of staff, Tim Mapes, after his own sexual harassment allegations became public in early June 2018.

McClain walked away from the funeral service to take a phone call from Madigan in the afternoon over Mapes’ allegations and subsequent firing, telling the speaker that the “only tears” he shed that day were about the entire situation. McClain then moved to ask permission to contact a crisis management public relations firm on Madigan’s behalf.

A few days later, Madigan updated McClain on her progress in speaking to women at the Democratic State Central Committee and told her that the new chief of staff, who is a woman, had called all female members of the House of Representatives into the Democratic Party. “What can we do better or differently?” to ask.

In late June, McClain asked Madigan what he thought of Anita Dunn, the Democratic strategist whose public relations has been scrutinized by the speaker’s inner circle in the wake of harassment allegations that have hit Madigan World in recent months.

“Oh, I guess it’s good,” Madigan said. “I think he’s okay, yeah.”

McClain talked about his credentials, telling the speaker he would “do a good job for you.”

“Will and I loved the visual appeal of this,” McClain said, referring to Cousineau, who was the first to suggest creating a “real public relations firm” for Madigan during a wiretap heard by the jury last week.

“It’s part of the #MeToo movement. They also have clients who are part of the #MeToo movement,” McClain said. “Obviously he’s a progressive. He comes from a background of working for Democrats. And if our goal is to truly re-elect you as Speaker and eliminate some of that negativity…we love the visuals, but we want you to start thinking about it.”

Madigan signed Dunn and paid him $200,000 from his campaign accounts. It wasn’t until last year NPR reported Dunn was doing this while Hampton was getting support on his case from Dunn’s firm, which is partnering with the Time’s Up Legal Defense Fund. Dunn’s firm eventually apologized to Hampton.

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