Criminal Bribery Trial of ex-AT&T Ill. President Set for September 2024

The jury trial of former AT&T Illinois President Paul La Schiazza on bribery and racketeering charges will open Sept. 9, 2024, and is expected to last 13 days, said a docket entry notification Tuesday (docket 1:22-cr-00520) in U.S. District Court for Northern Illinois in Chicago. La Schiazza pleaded not guilty Oct. 21 to charges in an Oct. 12 grand jury indictment that he authorized nine $2,500 monthly payments, totaling $22,500, to a close ally of former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan (D) for a no-show job (see 2302160048). Madigan in return successfully pushed through legislation backed by La Schiazza making it easier for AT&T to terminate its costly carrier of last resort obligation to continue providing landline services to Illinois residents, said the indictment.