Two of the longest-serving and most controversial mayors in Chicago’s suburbs each got a boost in their reelection efforts from campaign fundraisers hosted by a law firm representing their municipal governments — and that’s headed by a lawyer with ties to ex-Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan.
Del Galdo Law Group, LLC — which raised campaign money for Madigan while he was in office prior to his conviction on federal corruption charges last month — hosted a Jan. 13 political fundraiser for Cicero Town President Larry Dominick. While it wasn’t clear how much the event brought in, more than $100,000 was raised overall in January and February leading up to Dominick’s Feb. 25 reelection.
Led by attorney Michael Del Galdo, the Berwyn law firm also held a Feb. 18 fundraiser for Melrose Park Mayor Ron Serpico that raised more than $100,000, according to records and interviews. He’s running unopposed in the April 1 election to retain the seat he’s held for nearly 30 years.
Serpico has weathered criticism and controversy over the years, from revelations in 2015 that taxpayers were picking up part of the tab for his luxury Jaguar to his former police chief’s 2009 conviction over a racketeering and extortion scheme.
A former Cicero cop, Dominick’s 20 years in office has likewise been marked by controversies. In the run-up to his first election win, in 2005, the Chicago Sun-Times disclosed that FBI surveillance teams spotted him with reputed mob figures in the gritty western suburb.
A flier promoting Dominick’s January fundraiser mentions Illinois House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch, a Hillside Democrat, as a “special guest” at the event asking for a “sponsorship” for donors of $5,000, $2,500, $1,000 or $500.
It’s unclear whether he ended up attending. Neither Welch, Dominick or Del Galdo returned calls.
Welch was similarly involved in another Serpico fundraiser in 2024, records show.
In using Del Galdo as their municipal attorney, Serpico’s and Dominick’s administrations can help determine how much money his firm gets from taxpayers in those communities. Despite that, Serpico says he doesn’t see Del Galdo’s campaign fundraising as a conflict of interest.
Welch’s legislative district includes all or parts of Bellwood, Berkeley, Broadview, Elmhurst, Forest Park, Hillside, Hinsdale, La Grange Park, Maywood, Melrose Park, Northlake, Oak Brook, River Forest, Westchester and Western Springs.
Since 2011, Dominick’s political fund has given more than $10,000 to Welch’s campaigns, including $1,000 just before Christmas, records show.
Since 2013, Welch has made seven contributions totaling $6,250 to the Cicero Voters Alliance, also known as “The Larry Dominick Team” and chaired by Dominick.
That campaign fund’s stated purpose is to “promote the freedom to choose candidates in local elections and instill unity among other organizations to acquire bipartisan efforts.”
In a contribution dated Feb. 4, Cornerstone Government Affairs gave Dominick’s fund $1,500, records show.
The Washington, D.C., company, which does work in Illinois, bills itself as “a bipartisan, employee-owned consulting firm specializing in federal and state government relations, public affairs and strategic communications, political consulting, grant consulting and business advisory services.”
A principal at Cornerstone, former Madigan aide Will Cousineau, testified under an immunity deal as a government witness in Madigan’s corruption trial. Cousineau had been part of a scheme to help a brother of Chicago Ald. Marty Quinn stay afloat financially after a sexual harassment scandal led Madigan to force him out of his political organization.
Del Galdo represented Cousineau during his cooperation with authorities.
Cousineau remains an Illinois lobbyist — Morton College in Cicero is among Cornerstone’s local lobbying clients, records show — and his company also gave $5,000 last month to People for Emanuel Chris Welch.
Cousineau’s company previously helped Welch’s wife, Shawnte Raines-Welch, during her successful run for Cook County judge in 2022, records show.
The Roosevelt Group, run by lobbyist Victor Reyes and representing Cicero’s town government, donated $4,000 to Dominick’s campaign fund in a contribution dated Jan. 24, records show.
Reyes’ name surfaced during the Madigan trial and in court records showing that a Madigan ally had allegedly pressured the utility giant ComEd to give more legal work to Reyes’ law firm Reyes Kurson. Reyes was described by one witness at the trial as a “prolific fundraiser” for the Illinois Democratic Party that Madigan ran.
Another name that surfaced at the Madigan trial was Madigan’s son and Del Galdo pal Andrew Madigan who, like Reyes, hasn’t been charged with any crime.
Prosecutors linked an insurance deal benefiting Andrew Madigan, who has worked for a politically connected insurance brokerage, to the scheme that the ex-House speaker was charged in.
Del Galdo and his firm have given more than $100,000 to Dominick’s campaigns over the years, and more than $60,000 to Serpico, records show.