I've kept on eye on this in the morning even tweeted about it. All we know this morning is that Ald. Willie Cochran (Ward 20) was to arrive at a change-of-plea hearing. And that hearing is over. Here's our tweet and then we get into what happened.
And now what happened later this morning in federal court:
JUST IN: A change-of-plea hearing for Alderman Willie B. Cochran is scheduled for Wednesday in Chicago federal court. https://t.co/9U6OdqOkDB— Chicago Sun-Times (@Suntimes) November 28, 2018
Prosecutors allege Ald. Willie Cochran (20th) stole money from a charitable fund, spending some of it at casinos and using some for his daughter’s college tuition. They say he demanded cash from an attorney for developers in exchange for taking action in his official capacity.Cochran had already decided not to seek re-election to the Chicago City Council last year.
“I believe plea negotiations have broken down,” Christopher Grohman, Cochran’s attorney, said at a hearing Wednesday morning in U.S. District Court. “They communicated an offer. He has decided not to accept it.”
Prosecutors agreed with Grohman’s request, and trial date was set for June 3. It is expected to last two weeks.
If you remember Arenda Troutman, Cochran had defeated her in 2007 for Ward 20 alderman as she was targeted by federal authorities for her own corruption.
I'm just sharing this video for reference, and I'm going to guess that CBS Chicago's YouTube channel will post an updated video later. [VIDEO]
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