Daywatch: New details emerge in alleged AT&T scheme to bribe House speaker

Good morning, Chicago.

Less than two weeks after AT&T Illinois’ bill to end mandated landline service became law in 2017, the utility’s then-president, Paul La Schiazza, allegedly received a request from a relative of House Speaker Michael Madigan to sponsor a nonprofit event.

The unidentified relative said the idea came “at the suggestion of our good friend, Mike McClain,” a former lobbyist and Madigan’s longtime confidant, according to a new prosecution filing. La Schiazza forwarded the request to a colleague in the legislative affairs department on July 12, 2017, writing “this will be endless,” according to the filing.

“I suspect the ‘thank you’ opportunities will be plentiful,’” the colleague allegedly emailed back, referring to the recent passage of AT&T’s coveted landline legislation expected to save to company millions of dollars.

“Yep,” La Schiazza allegedly responded. “We are on the friends and family plan now.”

The email exchange, which was disclosed for the first time in a recent court filing, gets to the heart of the bribery case against La Schiazza, who is set to go on trial in September on charges he approved a scheme to funnel payments to a Madigan associate in exchange for the speaker’s help passing legislation important to the company.

Read the full story from the Tribune’s Jason Meisner and Ray Long.

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Treasurer faces additional $10,000 fine; ethics leaders chastise Johnson

The Chicago Board of Ethics issued an additional $10,000 fine to city Treasurer Melissa Conyears-Ervin Monday for the firing of two top aides who alleged she misused taxpayer resources and pressured government workers to help her political allies.

The fine follows an inspector general investigation and a November probable cause finding from the board, which Conyears-Ervin was given the opportunity to rebut in the interim. In line with board policy, Conyears-Ervin was not named. A spokesman did not immediately return a request for comment.

Illinois legislators try again on statewide public defender legislation

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City closes migrant shelter in former school on South Side

All shelter residents have been moved to neighboring shelters or to permanent housing, officials said Monday as the city announced it had “recently decompressed” the migrant shelter at the former Wadsworth Elementary School in the Woodlawn neighborhood.

Prosecutor opposes bill to help moms whose babies are born with drugs in system

A proposal to change the way Illinois handles new mothers with drug-use disorders is meant to prioritize treatment, but it has prompted “grave concerns” from a prosecutor who oversaw one infamous case.

A bill in Springfield would end the requirement that prosecutors be notified when a baby is born with controlled substances in his or her system and would no longer necessarily consider that evidence of child abuse.

The hope is that by taking away the threat of losing custody of a baby, mothers would be more likely to seek treatment.

Who will the Blackhawks draft with the No. 2 pick? A closer look at 5 potential options.

When the Chicago Bears held the No. 1 NFL draft pick in 2023, the phone lines were buzzing before the Bears jumped at the best offer from the Carolina Panthers. It was a different story when the Blackhawks had the No. 1 pick in last year’s NHL draft.

“Yeah, I really didn’t hear from a lot of teams,” general manager Kyle Davidson said.

Two words: Connor Bedard. Why bother?

This year’s draft on June 28-29 in Las Vegas is a different matter.

5 things we heard from Bears assistant coaches, including Caleb Williams’ drive to learn and Rome Odunze’s new mentors

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The interview sessions included several new coaches under offensive coordinator Shane Waldron: passing game coordinator Thomas Brown, quarterbacks coach Kerry Joseph, wide receivers coach Chris Beatty and running backs coach Chad Morton.

Here are five things we heard from the coaches.

Roku will carry MLB games on Sundays beginning this week — and viewers can watch for free without one of the devices

Roku will carry Major League Baseball games on Sundays beginning this week, and viewers will be able to watch for free and not be required to use a Roku device, the streaming service announced Monday.

Roku secured multiyear rights for MLB Sunday Leadoff games beginning with the Boston Red Sox at St. Louis Cardinals this Sunday. The telecasts will be produced in collaboration with local broadcast teams.

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Hiking for hops: Chicago couple’s new book uses nature and beer to explore Chicagoland

Inside the book’s pages, 30 hiking areas and breweries in the city and the surrounding suburbs come alive thanks to Dan Ochwat and Jessica Sedgwick’s helpful descriptions. More travelog than serious trail guide, the book’s prose adds color and charm to each ramble, plus tons of information about the brewhouse of the day. They share, for example, that Black Horizon Brewery in Willowbrook is one of just four Black-owned breweries in the Chicago area — and is a must-visit after a 10-mile hike and dip at nearby Waterfall Glen.

A second piping plover has joined Imani at Montrose Beach. But he’s no wingman.

The only known surviving chick of Chicago’s famous piping plover pair, Monty and Rose, has a new rival.

A second piping plover — unofficially known as Green Dot — has joined the city’s favorite avian bachelor, Imani, at the North Side’s Montrose Beach.

The newcomer, believed to be male, has been seen walking next to Imani, along a parallel path. And while that may look like wingman behavior to humans, among piping plovers, the message is different.