Six months after a 2018 scandal erupted over sexual harassment allegations in Springfield, a longtime ally of then-House Speaker Michael J. Madigan got on the phone with another to float an idea: He wanted to find money for the accused, who had lost his job.“I’ve tried to put some guys together to kick in a grand each … for six months,” Michael McClain told lobbyist Will Cousineau in August 2018.McClain wanted to help Kevin Quinn, a Madigan aide and brother of Ald. Marty Quinn (13th). McClain told Cousineau that “except for the people that are signing on, uh, no one else even knows about it.“Except for our friend,” McClain said on Aug. 28, 2018.Now Madigan and McClain are on trial for a racketeering conspiracy. The jury hearing the case listened to a secret recording of that phone call Thursday. They’ve already been told that McClain used “our friend” as code for Madigan. And from the witness stand, Cousineau told them that was his understanding, as well. Trial highlightsJurors began to hear about Springfield sexual harassment allegations from 2018Defense attorneys tried to keep it out of the trial, calling it a “purely personal situation.”Cross-examination of Will Cousineau should continue Monday. Prosecutors used Cousineau’s testimony to wade into the controversy over Kevin Quinn, the man at the center of a 2018 firestorm after political consultant Alaina Hampton accused him of sexual harassment.But before testimony ended for the week, Madigan defense attorney Dan Collins also tried to chip away at the feds’ case, cross-examining Cousineau and prompting an emotional moment by asking about his bond with Madigan as fellow “adoptive fathers.”Cousineau struggled to speak, and he eventually reached for a tissue.Collins only had an hour to spend with Cousineau before U.S. District Judge John Blakey sent the jury home early for trick-or-treating, though. One juror wore a gray skull-patterned sweater and a spider ring in honor of the Halloween session.Collins will continue his cross-examination of Cousineau on Monday.Neither Madigan nor McClain are accused of sexual harassment. But prosecutors say the Kevin Quinn episode is evidence of Madigan’s criminal enterprise, designed in part to enrich and “reward” his allies. Related Feds recorded Mike Madigan learning about secret payments to controversial ex-political aide, court records show Defense attorneys made a last-ditch effort Thursday to block it from the trial. Madigan attorney Todd Pugh called it a “purely personal situation” — unlike other allegations that people were paid by ComEd and AT&T Illinois to influence Madigan.Assistant U.S. Attorney Amarjeet Bhachu countered that it’s “dead bang” within the racketeering allegations in Madigan’s indictment. “No question about it,” he said.Blakey agreed, finding defense claims to the contrary “not supported by the record.”Assistant U.S. Attorney Julia Schwartz read jurors an agreed statement that, in November 2017, Madigan learned of “allegations of misconduct” by Kevin Quinn and that the aide was fired in February 2018.She then turned to the call between McClain and Cousineau. McClain told Cousineau that Kevin Quinn would do little work for the money, beyond a report.“You and I would have a, uh, not only a contract in case the IRS checked this out, but we’d also have a piece of paper,” McClain said.In a follow-up call on Aug. 31, 2018, McClain repeated that notion, suggesting that Kevin Quinn could write about elected officials and “talk about things that are little known about them. Like maybe who their sugar daddies are.”Cousineau told McClain he actually wanted Kevin Quinn to do some work.“Better than like the b———- report,” Cousineau said.Cousineau testified that Kevin Quinn wound up working for Cousineau’s lobbying firm, Cornerstone Government Affairs, and he was paid.The FBI says it also recorded a call between McClain and Madigan on Aug. 29, 2018 — between McClain’s two calls with Cousineau. McClain allegedly told Madigan that he’d found people to help Kevin Quinn, and he asked if Madigan wanted to talk to someone.“I think I ought to stay out of it,” Madigan allegedly said.Jurors have yet to hear that call. Why the Madigan trial matters Why the Madigan trial mattersMichael J. Madigan was the longest-serving state House speaker in the United States. That position made him the leader of the Illinois House of Representatives for nearly four decades, where he shepherded legislation that affected everyday life in Illinois. He also served for more than 20 years as the head of the Democratic Party of Illinois. Ultimately, he rose to become one of the most dominant politicians in Illinois since the late Chicago Mayor Richard J. Daley.What to expect in the trialWho was caught up in the investigationWho is Judge John Blakey?The documents behind the caseRead all our coverage of the historic trial here. Meanwhile, defense attorneys continued to push back against the prosecutors’ case Thursday. They won a small victory when the judge revisited an earlier dust-up about Madigan’s control of Democratic Party of Illinois campaign funds.Blakey told prosecutors not to overdo it when it comes to such testimony because Madigan’s defense team is “not disputing that he controlled funding.”Later, Collins began his cross-examination of Cousineau by asking whether he was aware if Madigan actually knew about the plan to help Kevin Quinn.“I was confused as to that point,” Cousineau told him.Collins also turned to an argument that he’d previewed for the judge — regarding the legalization of gay marriage in Illinois in 2013. Before trial ended for the week, he asked Cousineau about a memo he’d prepared for Madigan about Madigan’s personal involvement.The memo listed several House members who’d changed their votes to “yes” at Madigan’s urging.Collins apparently plans to note the contrast between that effort and the 2016 passage of the Future Energy Jobs Act. That bill helped change the fortunes of ComEd — and prosecutors say it was part of a bribery scheme involving Madigan.But jurors have not heard about any such memo showing Madigan’s personal involvement in FEJA, which Collins has pointed out to the judge.