Feds suspend ACA marketplace access to companies accused of falsely promising ‘cash cards’
Expand energy director Catherine A. Kehr sells $4.34 million in stock
(The Center Square) – Government attorneys are wrapping up their case with a focus on AT&T and former state Rep. Eddie Acevedo, D-Chicago, at the corruption trial of former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan and codefendant Michael McClain. Former Illinois state Rep. Michael McClain and former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan separately enter the federal court building in Chicago Wednesday December 11, 2024. Both face corruption charges. Judge John Robert Blakey ruled Wednesday that Acevedo would be required to testify next Monday, despite questions about Acevedo’s competency as a witness. Blakey denied defense attorneys’ motion to quash Acevedo’s subpoena Wednesday morning. Blakey pointed to the distinction between the credibility of the witness and competency to testify. Acevedo’s attorney, Gabrielle Sansonetti, had also sought to prevent Acevedo’s testimony by saying her client had dementia. U.S. government attorneys have introduced evidence showing that Acevedo was paid by AT&T and ComEd for do-nothing jobs. In a separate case, Acevedo was sentenced in 2022 to six months in prison for tax evasion. Lobbyist Thomas Cullen, who worked for Madigan from 1987 to 1999 in both the Speaker’s office and the Democratic Party of Illinois, reported to the witness stand Wednesday afternoon. Prosecutors say AT&T made payments to Acevedo through Cullen’s lobbying firm. Cullen said his attorney, Thomas Durkin, requested a non-target letter from the government to indicate that Cullen is not the target of the investigation corresponding with the trial of Madigan and McClain. Cullen called himself a “political junkie” and said he was loyal to the speaker and loyal to Democrats. Cullen said McClain would ask him to go to his clients and request campaign donations for Illinois Democrats in target districts. Government attorney Sarah Streicker displayed a transcript of a recording from Aug. 29, 2018, of McClain asking Cullen, on behalf of “our mutual friend,” to join him and others in donating $1,000 each per month for six months to former Madigan aide Kevin Quinn, who had been dismissed over harassment claims. Cullen said he understood “our mutual friend” to mean Mike Madigan and agreed emphatically to McClain’s request, even though Cullen said there were no unique services that Quinn could provide for him. During the call, McClain said that Madigan would “take care of Kevin” once Madigan was sworn in as speaker. Cullen testified that Kevin Quinn was an effective member of Madigan’s 13th Ward Democratic Organization in Chicago. Cullen said he paid Quinn $1,000 per month for six months. Cullen said he helped AT&T talk with Illinois lawmakers about carrier-of-last-resort legislation. According to Cullen, a COLR bill was AT&T’s No. 1 priority in 2017. The legislation passed that summer. Streicker asked Cullen about Acevedo, who had served as an assistant majority leader for Democratic members of the Illinois House under Madigan until Acevedo left the General Assembly in 2017. Cullen said AT&T did not want Acevedo’s successor, Theresa Mah, D-Chicago, to know that the company was paying Acevedo, because Mah had defeated Acevedo’s son in a contentious campaign. Cullen said he agreed to hire Acevedo even though he did not think Acevedo could add anything of value to his firm. “He wasn’t a serious member of the General Assembly ... I didn’t think he could add anything to my team,” Cullen added. Cullen described a meeting during which Acevedo “got mad” and used “some choice words” because he was upset that AT&T was being “cheap” by only offering him $2,500 per month. Prosecutors called AT&T Illinois employee Barbara Galvin to the witness stand Wednesday morning. Galvin said she has worked in the company’s external and legislative affairs department since 2003. Government attorney Amar Bhachu introduced a 2017 consultant agreement with Cullen’s firm to work under the direction of AT&T President Paul La Schiazza. According to the agreement, Cullen’s firm did not have authority to give gifts or payments directly or indirectly to political officials or parties. Bhachu also displayed an amendment to the deal that raised the payment amount to Cullen’s firm from $7,500 per month to $10,000 per month. Bhachu then introduced an email among AT&T legislative affairs members explaining the increased payments for an additional asset, which Galvin testified was “Eddie Acevedo,” to support House Democratic leadership. Bhachu then showed jurors a document showing AT&T’s sponsorship of a fundraising event for Aunt Martha’s Health & Wellness in Chicago “to provide stakeholder opportunities with legislators.” The document included language explaining the $2,500 cost of the event, to align with Aunt Martha’s, was “to position AT&T with state, city and county decision-makers and business leaders.” FBI Special Agent Jennifer Avila followed Galvin to the witness stand and testified about AT&T records related to the company’s efforts to lobby Madigan for telecommunications modernization. Prosecutors introduced several emails over prior objections by the defense teams. In one email, La Schiazza wrote, “In Illinois no bill can get through the legislature and to the Governor without the tacit approval of the all-powerful House Speaker Michael Madigan. He is the longest serving Speaker in the United States and rules the House with an iron fist.” Another email from La Schiazza asked if there was money set aside for Eddie Acevedo. A subsequent email recommended that Acevedo not be contracted directly with AT&T but instead be hired by Cullen’s firm. In a series of emails, AT&T executives indicated that Acevedo “felt insulted” by the company’s consulting offer of $2,500 per month and asked for $3,000 per month. Acevedo eventually accepted the $2500 amount for consulting through Cullen & Associates. Government attorney Julia Schwartz introduced a series of emails from the summer of 2017, after the General Assembly passed legislation favored by AT&T. In one email, the speaker’s son, Andrew Madigan, emailed AT&T officials to invite them to participate in a fundraiser for Aunt Martha’s. La Schiazza suggested that this would not be the last such request and, after some discussion via email, La Schiazza wrote, “We’re on the friends and family plan now.” Connie Mixon, professor of Political Science and director of the Urban Studies Program at Elmhurst University, said defense attorneys might argue that AT&T’s behavior is not unusual. “Most people, most organizations, most corporations try to curry favor with legislators and, importantly, the powerful Speaker of the Illinois House, Michael Madigan,” Mixon told The Center Square. Lobbyist and former Madigan aide Will Cousineau mentioned AT&T in a wiretapped call with McClain on May 25, 2018. “Zalewski was asked to get you language on his small cell item today?” Cousineau asked. “Yeah?” McClain said. “Was that to talk to, to start a discussion with AT&T? And here’s the reason I’m asking: I’ve got a little, uh, COLR relief for little Century Link in there, um, that I would like to hook to anything that moves, and it’s in the language that he got you,” Cousineau said. Former AT&T executive Deno Perdiou began testifying Tuesday afternoon but did not return Wednesday due to what Blakey called “a personal issue.” The court is not scheduled to be in session Thursday or Friday. Trial proceedings are scheduled to resume Monday morning at the Everett McKinley Dirksen U.S. Courthouse in Chicago. Prosecutors indicated that they expect to rest their case Tuesday. Madigan’s defense attorneys suggested they would be ready to begin presenting their case when the government rests. Attorneys mentioned that state Rep. Bob Rita, D-Blue Island, might return to the witness stand. Rita testified for about 10 minutes on Oct. 24 but did not return. Bhachu said there are “some things in play” with regard to Rita. Madigan and McClain are charged with 23 counts of bribery, racketeering and official misconduct in connection with a scheme U.S. government attorneys termed, “The Madigan Enterprise.” Prosecutors allege that ComEd and AT&T Illinois gave out no-work or little-work jobs and contract work to those loyal to Madigan to get legislation passed that would benefit them in Springfield. Four ComEd executives and lobbyists were convicted last year in a related trial, and ComEd itself agreed to pay $200 million in fines as part of a deferred prosecution agreement with prosecutors.By KENYA HUNTER, Associated Press ATLANTA (AP) — As she checked into a recent flight to Mexico for vacation, Teja Smith chuckled at the idea of joining another Women’s March on Washington . As a Black woman, she just couldn’t see herself helping to replicate the largest act of resistance against then-President Donald Trump’s first term in January 2017. Even in an election this year where Trump questioned his opponent’s race , held rallies featuring racist insults and falsely claimed Black migrants in Ohio were eating residents’ pets , he didn’t just win a second term. He became the first Republican in two decades to clinch the popular vote, although by a small margin. “It’s like the people have spoken and this is what America looks like,” said Smith, the Los Angeles-based founder of the advocacy social media agency, Get Social. “And there’s not too much more fighting that you’re going to be able to do without losing your own sanity.” After Trump was declared the winner over Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris , many politically engaged Black women said they were so dismayed by the outcome that they were reassessing — but not completely abandoning — their enthusiasm for electoral politics and movement organizing. Black women often carry much of the work of getting out the vote in their communities. They had vigorously supported the historic candidacy of Harris, who would have been the first woman of Black and South Asian descent to win the presidency. Harris’ loss spurred a wave of Black women across social media resolving to prioritize themselves, before giving so much to a country that over and over has shown its indifference to their concerns. AP VoteCast , a survey of more than 120,000 voters, found that 6 in 10 Black women said the future of democracy in the United States was the single most important factor for their vote this year, a higher share than for other demographic groups. But now, with Trump set to return to office in two months, some Black women are renewing calls to emphasize rest, focus on mental health and become more selective about what fight they lend their organizing power to. “America is going to have to save herself,” said LaTosha Brown, the co-founder of the national voting rights group Black Voters Matter. She compared Black women’s presence in social justice movements as “core strategists and core organizers” to the North Star, known as the most consistent and dependable star in the galaxy because of its seemingly fixed position in the sky. People can rely on Black women to lead change, Brown said, but the next four years will look different. “That’s not a herculean task that’s for us. We don’t want that title. ... I have no goals to be a martyr for a nation that cares nothing about me,” she said. AP VoteCast paints a clear picture of Black women’s concerns. Black female voters were most likely to say that democracy was the single most important factor for their vote, compared to other motivators such as high prices or abortion. More than 7 in 10 Black female voters said they were “very concerned” that electing Trump would lead the nation toward authoritarianism, while only about 2 in 10 said this about Harris. About 9 in 10 Black female voters supported Harris in 2024, according to AP VoteCast, similar to the share that backed Democrat Joe Biden in 2020. Trump received support from more than half of white voters, who made up the vast majority of his coalition in both years. Like voters overall, Black women were most likely to say the economy and jobs were the most important issues facing the country, with about one-third saying that. But they were more likely than many other groups to say that abortion and racism were the top issues, and much less likely than other groups to say immigration was the top issue. Despite those concerns, which were well-voiced by Black women throughout the campaign, increased support from young men of color and white women helped expand Trump’s lead and secured his victory. Politically engaged Black women said they don’t plan to continue positioning themselves in the vertebrae of the “backbone” of America’s democracy. The growing movement prompting Black women to withdraw is a shift from history, where they are often present and at the forefront of political and social change. One of the earliest examples is the women’s suffrage movement that led to ratification in 1920 of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution , which gave women the right to vote. Black women, however, were prevented from voting for decades afterward because of Jim Crow-era literacy tests, poll taxes and laws that blocked the grandchildren of slaves from voting. Most Black women couldn’t vote until the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Black women were among the organizers and counted among the marchers brutalized on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Alabama, during the historic march in 1965 from Selma to Montgomery that preceded federal legislation. Decades later, Black women were prominent organizers of the Black Lives Matter movement in response to the deaths of Black Americans at the hands of police and vigilantes. In his 2024 campaign, Trump called for leveraging federal money to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion programs in government programs and discussions of race, gender or sexual orientation in schools. His rhetoric on immigration, including false claims that Black Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, were eating cats and dogs, drove support for his plan to deport millions of people . Tenita Taylor, a Black resident of Atlanta who supported Trump this year, said she was initially excited about Harris’ candidacy. But after thinking about how high her grocery bills have been, she feels that voting for Trump in hopes of finally getting lower prices was a form of self-prioritization. “People say, ‘Well, that’s selfish, it was gonna be better for the greater good,”’ she said. “I’m a mother of five kids. ... The things that (Democrats) do either affect the rich or the poor.” Some of Trump’s plans affect people in Olivia Gordon’s immediate community, which is why she struggled to get behind the “Black women rest” wave. Gordon, a New York-based lawyer who supported the Party for Socialism and Liberation’s presidential nominee, Claudia de la Cruz, worries about who may be left behind if the 92% of Black women voters who backed Harris simply stopped advocating. “We’re talking millions of Black women here. If millions of Black women take a step back, it absolutely leaves holes, but for other Black women,” she said. “I think we sometimes are in the bubble of if it’s not in your immediate circle, maybe it doesn’t apply to you. And I truly implore people to understand that it does.” Nicole Lewis, an Alabama-based therapist who specializes in treating Black women’s stress, said she’s aware that Black women withdrawing from social impact movements could have a fallout. But she also hopes that it forces a reckoning for the nation to understand the consequences of not standing in solidarity with Black women. “It could impact things negatively because there isn’t that voice from the most empathetic group,” she said. “I also think it’s going to give other groups an opportunity to step up. ... My hope is that they do show up for themselves and everyone else.” Brown said a reckoning might be exactly what the country needs, but it’s a reckoning for everyone else. Black women, she said, did their job when they supported Harris in droves in hopes they could thwart the massive changes expected under Trump. “This ain’t our reckoning,” she said. “I don’t feel no guilt.” AP polling editor Amelia Thomson DeVeaux and Associated Press writer Linley Sanders in Washington contributed to this report. The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
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Danica Patrick, renowned as the sole female victor of an IndyCar race in the United States , has hinted she will continue to work for British broadcaster Sky Sports in 2025. Former NASCAR star Patrick regularly appears on Sky Sports during Formula 1 races held in North and South America, and she even ventured to report on the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix recently. Although Sky Sports frequently shuffles its lineup - introducing new talent while seeing familiar faces like Johnny Herbert exit stage left in 2023 and Damon Hill bow out last month - it appears Patrick, 42, is set for a longer stay. Her end-of-season social media post carried a tinge of sentiment as she reflected on the year. She wrote: "What a fun year to be reporting on F1 and be at the last race in Abu Dhabi! So many winners and so many story lines! 2025 is going to be lit! "Most of all... I love my Sky Sports crew. They make work fun and are also incredibly talented and I learn from them every weekend!" Despite her achievements on the racetrack, Patrick has stirred controversy with her political stance. She openly supported Donald Trump , who clinched the United States Presidential Election last month, and cast her vote for the 78-year-old. In October, she moderated a North Carolina town hall event featuring J.D. Vance, Trump's running mate set to take office in January. On US TV news, she defended her choice to back the Republican ticket over Democrat Kamala Harris. She said: "It feels like voting for Donald Trump is like the vote of reason. It's like the rational, reasonable choice. There is a difference definitely between the way that men and women are voting, and I think maybe one of the reasons why women are having a harder time with the vote is just [Trump's] personality. "That's the most common answer you hear from people. 'I just can't vote for him'. I don't think that's a good enough reason. You don't have to go to dinner with him, you just have to like the country that you live in. "If he gets into office, with all the amazing, brilliant people who are supporting him, I feel like it can not only make America great again but make America greater than it's ever been."Lauren Boebert joins Cameo, charging $250+ for personalized video messages