David Ellis
Blago's prosecutor is no stranger to intrigue — quite literally
January 14, 2009
CHICAGO — The man who will serve as the prosecutor against embattled Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich in the Illinois Senate's impeachment trial is no stranger to political intrigue.
David Ellis, who is counsel to Illinois House of Representatives Speaker Michael Madigan and was appointed to the prosecutor post this week, has authored five legal thrillers, including Life Sentence, a 2003 novel about the chief aide to a candidate for governor who shares a secret with his boss about a teenage girl who was killed at a party in a drunken encounter. In another one of his novels, Jury of One, published in 2004, the daughter of a governor who is a children's rights lawyer finds herself defending a teenage boy, who turns out to be the son that her father forced her to give up for adoption.
The Senate trial follows the House impeachment of Blagojevich last week and is expected to begin later this month. The Senate may oust Blagojevich from office largely based on the allegations lodged by federal prosecutors last month regarding the governor's pursuit of campaign contributions and other benefits in exchange for an appointment to the U.S. Senate seat vacated by President-elect Barack Obama. Blagojevich's legal team is headed by Chicago criminal defense attorney Edward Genson.
A graduate of Northwestern University School of Law, Ellis was in private practice for many years, most recently handling constitutional issues at the Chicago litigation boutique formerly known as Williams Bax & Ellis and now known as Williams Bax & Saltzman, before leaving to join the speaker's office in 2007, said former partner David Williams. Ellis and Williams met when they worked together at another, larger now defunct Chicago firm, Phelan, Pope & John.
"He is an unbelievable writer and a smart guy and a great litigator," Williams said.
Ellis, who was born in 1967 and now lives in the Illinois state capital, Springfield, has written five novels. The first book, Line of Vision, received the Edgar Allan Poe Award in 2002 for his best first novel by an American author, according to his Web site. His most recent book is Eye of the Beholder, released last year.
Ellis' wife, Susan, currently works for the Illinois Attorney General's Office, headed by Speaker Madigan's daughter, Lisa Madigan, who was one of the first Illinois politicians to call for Blagojevich's resignation. Speaker Madigan and Blagojevich have feuded over legislative issues in recent years, with Blagojevich suing Madigan in 2007 over a contested point on calling for special sessions of the House.
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