As Trial Begins, Politically Connected Businessman Claims Feds Set Hi…

The Dirksen Courthouse is pictured in Chicago. (Capitol News Illinois)

CHICAGO – Nearly four years after his name first surfaced in connection with a bribe arrangement between two sitting lawmakers, politically connected businessman James Weiss is finally having his day in court.

Weiss, who is married to former state Rep. Toni Berrios, D-Chicago – the daughter of longtime former Cook County Democratic Party boss Joseph Berrios – stands accused of bribing two Democratic lawmakers in an effort to shield his fledgling business from threatened bans at the state and local levels.

Weiss was in the business of sweepstakes machines – devices that look similar to video gaming terminals that have proliferated in bars, gas stations and standalone gaming cafes in Illinois since their legalization a decade ago. But, unlike video gaming terminals, sweepstakes machines are wholly unregulated and are operating in a legal gray area.

In the government’s opening statements on Tuesday,…