Closing arguments are expected Monday in the bribery trial of state Sen. Emil Jones III, a Chicago Democrat accused of soliciting $5,000 in campaign funding and a job for his former district office intern from a red-light camera company executive in exchange for Jones’ help with legislation in Springfield.
Jones, 46, whose father, Emil Jones Jr., led the state Senate for years before orchestrating to have his son replace him in 2009, is charged with bribery, use of an interstate facility to solicit bribery and lying to federal agents. The most serious charge carries up to 10 years in prison, while the others have a five-year maximum term.
After a nine-day trial that featured testimony from FBI mole Omar Maani, the co-founder of SafeSpeed LLC, as well as Jones himself, the jury of seven women and five men is scheduled to begin hearing closing arguments at 8:30 a.m.
Prosecutors told U.S. District Judge Andrea Wood their initial argument and rebuttal will total over two hours, while Jones’ attorneys said they likely have at least two hours of argument as well. Given the judge also has to instruct the jury, they likely will not get the case until late in the day at the earliest.
According to the charges, Jones agreed to accept $5,000 in campaign funding from Maani in exchange for Jones agreeing not to push a bill calling for a statewide study of red-light cameras, which SafeSpeed considered potentially damaging to its bottom line.
Jones also offered to “protect” the company from his friend, then-state Rep. David McSweeney, who had filed bills of his own calling for an all-out ban of red-light cameras, according to prosecutors.
The charges allege Jones also asked Maani to give his former office intern a part-time job, which led to $1,800 being paid to the intern in exchange for no work.
Jones is the first sitting member of the state General Assembly to face trial at the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse since then-state Rep. Derrick Smith was found guilty of bribery a decade ago. If convicted, Jones would be forced to resign under Illinois law and would almost certainly forfeit any future pension.
At the heart of the case are a series of undercover videos made by Maani as he sat down at steakhouses in Oak Brook and Chicago with Jones as well as then-state Sen. Martin Sandoval, the powerful and corrupt head of the Senate Transportation Committee who was taking cash payments from Maani in exchange for being SafeSpeed’s protector in the General Assembly.
Sandoval pleaded guilty to bribery charges and was cooperating with investigators when he died of COVID-19 complications in December 2020.
One video, from a meeting between Jones and Maani in July 2019 at Steak 48 on North Wabash Avenue, showed Jones digging into his favorite Wagyu filet as Maani brought up Jones’ upcoming fundraiser at Sox Park.
“How much money you want me to come up with?” Maani asked. “You tell me a number.”
Jones initially demurred, telling Maani no one had ever asked him that before. But Maani explained he was different, that he always wanted to meet expectations.
“You’re already meeting expectations, Omar,” Jones said, cutting into his steak while a hidden camera sat somewhere on the table across from him. “You’re a good guy. I like you all’s company a lot.”
Then Jones dropped the number: “If you can raise me five grand, that’d be good.”
“Done,” Maani replied quickly.
Jones testified in his own defense last week that he said Maani reminded him of a “used car salesman” and he was actually trying to blow him off. The internship request was nothing more than a routing job recommendation for a family friend and had no connection whatsoever to any red light camera legislation, Jones testified.
When the FBI knocked on his door on the morning of Sept. 24, 2019, the same day they raided Sandoval’s offices and several other locations, Jones said he chose to talk to the agents “because I knew I didn’t do nothing wrong and I had nothing to hide.”
