TIMOTHY MAPES, 66, of Springfield, Ill., is charged with one count of making false declarations before a grand jury and one count of attempted obstruction of justice, according to an indictment returned in U.S. District Court in Chicago.  Arraignment has not yet been scheduled.

The indictment was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Emmerson Buie, Jr., Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Office of the FBI; and Tamera Cantu, Acting Special Agent-in-Charge of the IRS Criminal Investigation Division in Chicago.  The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Julia Schwartz, Amarjeet S. Bhachu, Diane MacArthur, Timothy J. Chapman, Sarah E. Streicker, Matthew L. Kutcher, and Michelle Kramer.  The officials noted that the federal investigation into the allegations of public corruption remains ongoing.

According to the indictment, the federal grand jury was investigating possible violations of federal criminal law, including efforts by the Illinois Speaker of the House and an individual acting on the Speaker’s behalf, to obtain for others private jobs, contracts, and monetary payments, including from Commonwealth Edison (“ComEd”), the largest electric utility in Illinois, to influence and reward the Speaker in the Speaker’s official capacity.  On March 24, 2021, Mapes was granted immunity to testify before the grand jury.  The immunity order provided that no testimony or evidence provided by Mapes could be used against him in a criminal case, except for perjury, giving a false statement, or otherwise failing to comply with the immunity order. 

On March 31, 2021, Mapes testified before the grand jury and knowingly made false material declarations in response to several questions about a consultant’s relationship with the Speaker from 2017 to 2019, the indictment states.  Mapes in his testimony denied knowing that the consultant acted as an agent or performed work for the Speaker during those years, when, in fact, Mapes knew that the consultant carried out work and assignments on behalf of the Speaker and communicated messages on the Speaker’s behalf, the indictment states.

The public is reminded that an indictment contains only charges and is not evidence of guilt.  The defendant is presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.  The obstruction charge is punishable by up to 20 years in federal prison, while the false declaration charge carries a maximum sentence of five years.