Nancy Kimme, a key Republican lobbyist known for her ability to reach out to both sides of the political aisle, is among a trio of Springfield insiders slated to testify Thursday in the perjury trial of Tim Mapes.
Mapes, 68, of Springfield, is charged with perjury and attempted obstruction of justice, accused in an indictment of lying to a federal grand jury investigating his former boss, House Speaker Michael Madigan.
Kimme, the former chief of staff for Comptroller Judy Baar Topinka, has come up frequently in testimony both at Mapes’ trial and earlier this year in the “ComEd Four” case that ended with the convictions of Madigan confidant Michael McClain and three other utility executives and lobbyists.
But her testimony Thursday would mark Kimme’s first turn on a witness stand. Prosecutors said they intend to call her at some point after the testimony of ex-state Rep. Lou Lang, a Skokie Democrat who was called by the prosecution shortly before the trial adjourned for the day Wednesday.
Also expected to testify Thursday is Craig Willert, a high-ranking Madigan staffer who later became a top Springfield lobbyist.
[ Former top Michael Madigan aide on trial: What you need to know — and what’s next for Tim Mapes ]
Mapes, who served for more than 25 years as Madigan’s borderline-tyrannical chief of staff as well as stints as executive director of the state Democratic Party and the clerk of the House, ccused of lying during his March 31, 2021, grand jury appearance in his answers to seven questions about Madigan’s relationship with McClain.
In a nearly 90-minute segment of Mapes’ grand jury testimony played in court on Wednesday, Mapes repeatedly claimed to have no recollection of “assignments” or other roles that McClain played in the organization.
Mapes, long known for his meticulous, details-driven style, continued to say he couldn’t recall specifics even after a prosecutor repeatedly warned him that he could be charged with perjury if the grand jury had reason to believe he actually did remember.
Mapes has denied making any false statements, and his attorneys have argued that he did his “level best” to provide truthful answers. They also accused prosecutors of asking open-ended questions and failing to provide Mapes with any corroborating materials that might refresh his recollection of years-old conversations.
[ Tim Mapes perjury trial: Evidence seen and heard by the jury ]
Either way, Mapes’ allegedly misleading statements had little effect, as Madigan and McClain were both indicted on racketeering charges last year alleging Madigan was at the top of a criminal enterprise aimed at enriching him and his cronies and maintaining his nearly unfettered political power.
McClain is also awaiting sentencing for his conviction on related charges that he participated in a scheme by Commonwealth Edison to funnel hundreds of thousands of dollars in payments to Madigan associates in order to win the speaker’s support for the utility’s legislative agenda in Springfield.
Prosecutors have said they expect to rest their case in chief at some point Friday.
While the indictment against Mapes may be relatively simple, the political intrigue surrounding his trial has so far been multilayered.
The theater continued Wednesday as prosecutors, in an effort to prove that Mapes was lying about his lack of recall, took the jury on a deep dive into a series of secretly recorded phone calls and meetings between Madigan and members of his inner circle.
In one call from June 21, 2018, McClain worried aloud of a “Keystone Cops” atmosphere in the Madigan-run state Democratic Party given Mapes’ sudden ouster that month from Madigan’s political and government operations over sexual harassment and bullying allegations made by a staffer.
The upheaval took place in the midst of the campaign pitting Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner against Democrat J.B. Pritzker, and Mapes and McClain were clearly worried on the call about the upcoming election — as well as Madigan’s political and physical well-being.
“He looks exhausted, Tim,” McClain said.
Mapes replied that Madigan had lost a lot of weight. “He’s gotta be exhausted,” Mapes said.
The detailed discussion also included talk about how to fill in new Democratic loyalists taking over fundraising tasks for House Democratic races.
McClain told Mapes that the wheels had come off the fundraising cart after he left, particularly because Mapes was the keeper of a “comprehensive” fundraising Excel list that they relied on during campaign season.
“I have it on a thumb drive,” Mapes said, laughing. “I carry it with me all the time.”
“Oh do you? That’s pretty cute,” McClain replied.
The two also talked about the decline of Madigan’s 13th Ward power base, worrying specifically about Chicago Ald. Marty Quinn, one of Madigan’s closest allies, and whether he’d be able to send his kids to college.
“Once Madigan is gone, Marty gets defeated by the Latinos in the next election,” McClain told Mapes, who agreed.
“I’m not anti, I just think he should be taken care of, or find where he’s going to land,” Mapes said about Quinn. “He’s got three girls to get to college.”
Quinn has since been reelected twice, in 2019 and in a newly drawn district earlier this year.
Late Wednesday, the prosecution called Lang, a longtime member of Madigan’s leadership team who knew all three men.
“It was fairly well known around the Capitol that Mr. McClain, aside from his lobbying duties, because he was a professional lobbyist, contacted people on the speaker’s behalf,” said Lang, who was given a “non-target” letter by prosecutors in advance of his testimony.
Lang also said the speaker “relied on Mr. Mapes for all things.”
“I know you’ve heard the phrase he kept the trains running on time and that’s what he did,” Lang said.
Asked by Assistant U.S. Attorney Julia Schwartz what Mapes’ attention to detail was like, Lang said, “Meticulous.”
Lang’s testimony will resume at 9 a.m. Thursday.
Prosecutors are also expected to play calls from May 2018 where Mapes and McClain discuss Lang’s alleged harassment of a female activist.
“Let me put you on with the boss. OK?” Mapes told McClain, according to court records detailing the conversation. “So you’re going to inform him what you know and go from there.”
Prosecutors wrote in a recent court filing the episode demonstrates “as clear as day that Mapes knew McClain communicated with Madigan in 2018, because “Mapes sets up that conversation.”
Lang, who once hoped to succeed Madigan as speaker, was later forced to resign from the General Assembly at Madigan’s behest due to rumors about another accuser who was about to come forward.
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Kimme’s appearance, meanwhile, will add a new political dimension to Mapes’ trial and illustrates how Illinois party labels often don’t matter when it comes to cutting a deal.
As a longtime aide to Topinka, a politician with bipartisan credibility and friends on both sides of the aisle, Kimme enjoyed a similar rapport at the Capitol.
When Topinka died just before newly elected GOP Gov. Bruce Rauner took office in 2015, Kimme helped in his transition and then became an in-demand lobbyist with enviable access to the GOP administration.
She also kept the bipartisan connections she developed in the Topinka years, making her a potential conduit for Democrats seeking help to win over Republican lawmakers and to get favorable consideration on legislation they wanted Rauner to sign.
When Rauner was defeated in his 2018 re-election bid to Democrat J.B. Pritzker, Kimme teamed up to lobby with former Rep. Lou Lang, the longtime Skokie Democrat who Madigan and McClain forced to resign from the House.