Philip: Never sold favors for donations
Fawell's lawyers subpoenaed ex-Senate president

By MIKE RAMSEY
COPLEY NEWS SERVICE

CHICAGO - Former state Senate president James "Pate" Philip endured a federal prosecutor's aggressive cross-examination Wednesday and denied he's ever traded his official influence for campaign contributions.

Philip's highly anticipated testimony contradicted that of government informant Larry Hall, a onetime secretary of state employee who last week implicated Philip in bribery schemes at the outer edges of the Scott Fawell corruption trial.

Philip, a DuPage County Republican, insisted he doesn't remember much about the conversations he had over the years with Hall, even after assistant U.S. attorney Patrick Collins read transcripts of exchanges secretly taped by the FBI.

"My memory isn't as good as it used to be. It's been a long time," Philip said during his hourlong appearance on the stand.

Hall testified that in the mid-1990s Philip knew he solicited campaign funds for the lawmaker from people who wanted low-digit license plates and from a Lombard mall owner who sought help in retaining a state agency as a tenant.

Philip said he recalled Hall mentioning the landlord in a conversation but added, "There was no exchange for anything."

In 2000, Collins said, Hall agreed to sell fund-raiser tickets for Philip if the DuPage GOP chairman would help his sister get a county job. Philip admitted he agreed to help her, but denied it was linked to fund raising.

"We don't do those things. We don't operate that way, and we never will," Philip said.

The 72-year-old legislator, whose term as Senate president ended in January, became the highest-profile witness to testify in the Fawell trial. Fawell, 45, is accused of diverting public resources for political reasons in the 1990s when he was the top aide to Republican George Ryan in the secretary of state's office.

Ryan, elected governor in 1998 and now retired, has not been charged, but his campaign organization is a co-defendant.

Fawell's defense team subpoenaed Philip, hoping he could weaken Hall's allegation that it was Fawell's idea to broker coveted license plates for campaign funds, including money for Ryan's coffers. Hall pleaded guilty to mail fraud and admitted he took bribes and kickbacks while working for Ryan's office.

"(Hall was) a name-dropper," Philip told Fawell attorney Marc Martin. "He was a big-time talker. He promised a lot of things. Didn't deliver, if you ask me."

Philip later told reporters, "I didn't like the guy the first time I met him."

Seeking to bolster Hall's credibility, Collins noted that Philip has known the witness for nearly a decade, had met with him five times in 2001 alone and had accepted campaign contributions from him.

The prosecutor dredged up other politically embarrassing material, including Philip's 1999 high school reunion at Navy Pier that was subsidized by the "McPier" agency Fawell oversaw at the time. Philip paid for the lavish event - it was estimated to cost more than $14,000 - with campaign funds following media scrutiny last year.

In 1994, the manager of a Naperville driver's license bureau sought Philip's help when he became a suspect in a theft at the facility, Collins said.

The manager, a member of Philip's Republican organization, was never charged.

Collins also disclosed that the FBI had interviewed Philip in March 2001, but he did not offer details in court.

Philip, a larger-than-life figure known for his flippant remarks, occasionally became flustered under cross-examination and offered few of his trademark retorts.

He was closer to form as reporters trailed him out of the courtroom and asked about his relationship with Hall.

"When you help people, people tend to help you. It's been going on forever," Philip said.

The Fawell trial, which began in mid-January, is near its conclusion. Fawell's defense team rested its case Wednesday, and closing arguments were expected to begin today.

Mike Ramsey can be reached at (312) 857-2323 or cnsramsey@aol.com.