Businessman accused of bribing lawmakers was ‘getting bang for his buck,’ prosecutor says with case poised to go to jury

James T. Weiss waits outside security at Dirksen Federal Building on his way to a hearing, Thursday, June 1, 2023. (Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times)

The federal corruption case against a businessman accused of bribing two state lawmakers could be in the hands of jurors Thursday morning after a prosecutor told them laws should be changed “based on the power of the ideas instead of the size of the pocketbook.”

But a defense attorney for James T. Weiss, a son-in-law of former Cook County Assessor Joseph Berrios, countered that “there’s just simply not enough evidence to find [Weiss] guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.”