Opening statements within the historic corruption case towards former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan and his longtime confidant have been anticipated to start Monday following the completion of an typically tedious jury choice course of that dragged on for nearly two weeks.
Madigan, 82, the “velvet hammer” who served for many years as Illinois House speaker and head of the state Democratic Party, faces racketeering fees that allege he ran his state and political operations as a felony enterprise, plotting with utility giants ComEd and AT&T to present his mates contracts that require little or no work and to make use of his public place to drum up enterprise for his personal legislation agency.
Both Madigan and his co-defendant, Michael McClain, 77, a former ComEd lobbyist, have pleaded not responsible and denied any wrongdoing.
The jury of eight ladies and 4 males was finalized on Thursday after six lengthy days of questioning in courtroom. The panel contains no less than six individuals from Chicago, together with two from town’s nineteenth Ward on the far Southwest facet. Others come from as far-off as Aurora, Downers Grove and Ingleside, in northern Lake County.
Many of these chosen mentioned they’d solely heard of Madigan in passing and didn’t know the main points of the allegations towards him, apart from the occasional information story. At least three mentioned they needed to be chosen for the historic trial for numerous causes. They all promised the attorneys that they may put apart the whole lot they’d heard and give you a good verdict.
U.S. District Judge John Robert Blakey scheduled opening statements within the case for Monday afternoon, after the ultimate two alternate jurors are chosen.
The trial, anticipated to final no less than 11 weeks, is the end result of one of many largest political corruption investigations ever held in Dirksen’s U.S. courtroom, given Madigan’s stature because the longest-serving chief of any legislative chamber within the nation who for many years he has exercised an iron grip on the state legislature, in addition to on the Democratic Party and its political spoils.
While the courtroom has seen a parade of highly effective aldermen, lawmakers and even governors come and go, together with most just lately former Ald. Edward Burke, who was convicted in December of racketeering and is now serving a two-year jail sentence, has had Madigan’s distinctive mixture of longevity and affect on points affecting each nook of the state.
Madigan was ousted as speaker in early 2021 as investigations swirled round him, and shortly after resigned the House seat he had held since 1971. After his indictment in March 2022, he launched a press release wherein he denied ever participating in felony exercise and outbursts prosecutors to “try to criminalize” authorized political actions.
“Throughout my 50 years as a public servant, I’ve labored to fulfill the wants of my constituents, all the time conserving in thoughts the excessive requirements required and the belief the general public has positioned in me,” Madigan mentioned. “I categorically deny these allegations and look again with satisfaction on my time as an elected official, serving the individuals of Illinois.”
To strengthen their case towards Madigan, prosecutors plan to name a well-recognized lineup of former Democratic insiders and consultants, a few of whom will testify for the second or third time.
Among them: Democratic Rep. Bob Rita, who testified within the ComEd Four case that Madigan ruled “by way of worry and intimidation”; Tom Cullen, a lobbyist and former Madigan political guru who testified to the speaker’s absolute energy over what laws handed within the House; Ed Moody, the legendary precinct captain of the thirteenth District who was given a no-show consulting job at ComEd; and Will Cousineau, who defined that the last-minute standoff orchestrated by Madigan within the House in 2016 received the essential ComEd laws by way of.
Madigan’s panel will even hear from one other key aide, former ComEd Vice President Fidel Marquez, who flip-flopped after being confronted by the FBI in early 2019 and recorded a collection of conferences with McClain, l then-CEO Anne Pramaggiore, lobbyist John Hooker and advisor Jay Doherty wherein they talked about their secret efforts to repay Madigan associates.
But the most important distinction this time – in addition to Madigan himself sitting on the protection desk – would be the testimony of Solis, the important thing prosecution witness who made dozens of undercover audio and video recordings of Madigan beginning in 2016 that aren’t but been seen or heard in public.
Solis shouldn’t be anticipated to go to trial till November, and his testimony might final per week or extra, relying on what is bound to be a prolonged interrogation.
jmeisner@chicagotribune.com
mcrepeau@chicagotribune.com
rlong@chicagotribune.com
