State senator in red light probe: ‘Raise me five grand – that’d be good’

CHICAGO — An Illinois state senator was recorded discussing campaign contributions and a job for an intern in exchange for changes to legislation to protect the red light camera ticketing network operating in many suburbs, according to a new filing from federal prosecutors.

State Sen. Emil Jones, III (D-Chicago) is charged with bribery, making a false statement to the FBI and use of email in aid of racketeering.

“You can raise me five grand. That’d be good,” Jones was allegedly recorded telling a SafeSpeed executive during a 2019 dinner.     

Prosecutors say the two then discussed ways to conceal the potential money. Jones didn’t know the SafeSpeed executive he was talking to, Omar Maani, was cooperating with the FBI.  

“We have reporting requirements and everything, and I just don’t want to go down that path,” Maani told Jones, according to the government filing.  “I get it,” Jones allegedly replied. 

Jones is also said to have asked Maani for help finding a job for one of his interns.

“I will help 100 percent. And like I said before, if you could just help me out with the, ah, the study, to make it to Chicago,”  Maani allegedly said. 

Prosecutors say Jones responded: “You’re good.”

Jones is scheduled to stand trial April 1. 

The Chicago Tribune, which was first to report on the new filings, says it will be the first trial of a sitting elected official since then-Chicago alderman Patrick Daley Thompson’s case in 2021.  Jones replaced his father in the Illinois General Assembly.  Emil Jones, Jr. was a powerful figure in democratic politics and served as president of the Illinois senate until his retirement in 2009.

SafeSpeed cameras continue to operate in the suburbs despite evidence the former executive bribed local elected officials and at least two state legislators to grease the wheels.   

Prosecutors say Maani and SafeSpeed were concerned about a bill that would have required the Illinois Department of Transportation to study the effectiveness of the cameras. SafeSpeed only operates cameras in the suburbs.  

“If I do file that bill, it will only be for Chicago,” prosecutors alleged Jones told Maani.  

A SafeSpeed representative did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the new filings in the Jones case.  The company has previously claimed it had no knowledge its executive was bribing elected officials. 

In 2021, WGN Investigates reported 21 suburbs continued to partner with SafeSpeed collecting more than $18 millions since the first indictments were handed down in 2020. 

 Crestwood mayor Lou Presta pled guilty in a federal bribery case involving SafeSpeed in 2021 after being accused of accepting a $5,000 bribe from Maani.  He was sentenced to a year in prison and released in 2022.  The mayor of Oak Brook Terrace also pled guilty to accepting thousands of dollars in bribes from a SafeSpeed executive.