West Central Reporter

Jury selection in the perjury case involving Tim Mapers, former chief of staff to former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan, began on Aug. 7. That same day, Rep. C.D. Davidsmeyer issued a statement.

“Decades of corruption by the majority party has finally come to a head as the trials of Madigan’s many associates move forward," Davidsmeyer said. "Even as we’ve seen new leadership at the helm, we still see the same pay-to-play politics as the last regime; as well as a refusal to pass any real, meaningful ethics reforms!”

In May 2021, Mapes pleaded not guilty to charges of perjury – he was accused of lying to a grand jury, and according to a May 28 report by WGN9, was granted immunity to testify in front of a grand jury, but is now accused of lying about a bribery scheme involving ComEd.

Capitol News Illinois reported that Mapes resigned as Madigan’s chief of staff in 2018, and detailed an incident in 2018 that showed Mapes was still involved in things that went on in Madigan’s circle.

“But despite Madigan having publicly cut ties with Mapes, the disgraced political operative was still privy to what was going on inside the longtime speaker’s inner circle, according to wiretapped phone conversations captured by federal agents in 2018 and 2019," Capitol News Illinois wrote. "Those recordings were captured on the cell phone of Mike McClain, Madigan’s close friend and confidant who’d for decades also been a fixture in the Democratic power structure that controlled the General Assembly. In an early July 2018 call, McClain told Mapes about a dinner he and the speaker had recently in a loud restaurant. Mapes joked that McClain should’ve told the establishment’s management, 'I’m Mike McClain, I’m the right-hand guy to Mike Madigan.' McClain quipped back, 'I’m the right-hand guy of Tim Mapes.'”

ABC7 reported that the Mapes trial was expected to last three weeks but may not take that long, as attorneys indicated there wouldn't be as many witnesses as originally planned. Jury selection continued on Aug. 8.

Davidsmeyer is a lifelong resident of Jacksonville, Illinois, except for college, when he attended Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. He graduated from Miami U with a Bachelor of Arts in political science and later worked as a legislative assistant to Congressman John Shimkus in Washington, D.C. He joined the Jacksonville City Council in 2008 and has served as the chairman of the Public Protection Committee and chair of the Finance Committee. He has also been active in the local chamber of commerce, rotary and library board, according to his website.