Colorful past for insider at center of red light probe

The Chicago Tribune reports:

John Bills fits right in to the world of colorful characters who do the heavy lifting for Chicago politicians every election — raising donations, knocking on doors and delivering all of the vote.

But in Bills' case, the colors have often been a bit brighter. A South Side native, his family history is dotted with connections to organized crime. A huge White Sox fan, he got a job with the club, celebrated the World Series victory on the field with players and still sports a replica championship ring.

A veteran political worker for House Speaker Michael Madigan, he earned a reputation as a top fundraiser and vote-getter in the vaunted 13th Ward Democratic Organization who fell in and out of favor with his boss and with fellow precinct captains who turned to him when they couldn't make their numbers.


Federal investigators last week painted another picture of Bills, as the linchpin in a decadelong corruption scheme that brought red light cameras to Chicago.

The bribery scandal, among the most brazen ever to envelop City Hall, centers at least for now on Bills, a 32-year bureaucrat portrayed in a court filing last week as a man unembarrassed by his own greed, whose demands for more never ceased and who pitted one bidder against another in order to sweeten his own deal.

That version of Bills — one that he and his attorney adamantly deny — is the one federal prosecutors would use to pursue their case that he abused his office and took as much as $2 million in bribes for steering the red light camera contract worth more than $120 million.

John Bills: community organizer.