Jury selection begins this week in the corruption trial of former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan

CHICAGO — Jury selection will begin this week in the corruption trial of former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan, whose half-century career and status as Illinois’ most powerful politician ended nearly four years ago as the feds grew ever closer to his inner circle.

The 82-year-old former announcer, along with his longtime friend and influential Springfield lobbyist Mike McClain, is charged with bribery and racketeering in a case that portrays Madigan’s power in government, politics and as a partner in his law firm as a criminal enterprise.

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The trial, which is expected to last until mid-December, is the culmination of more than a decade of investigation by the FBI and prosecutors, and the latest in a string of related cases that have played out in federal court in Chicago over the past year. several years.

The feds have already obtained convictions and guilty pleas from many people in Madigan’s orbit, including McClain. He and three former Commonwealth Edison executives were found guilty last year in a case in which they were accused of bribing Madigan with job offers and do-nothing contracts for the speaker’s political allies to introduce legislation favorable to ComEd.

Some of these political allies who got contracts at ComEd and telecom giant AT&T Illinois has been charged with tax evasion and is serving or has already served a prison sentence.

Also last year, the former speaker’s longtime and fiercely loyal chief of staff, Tim Mapes, was convicted on two counts of perjury and attempted obstruction of justice for lying to a grand jury investigating Madigan and his inner circle.

But most recently, the jury deadlocked in the former AT’s trial last month&T Illinois President Paul La Schiazza, accused of bribing Madigan in 2017 as part of undone work for a political ally of the speaker. Arguments for his acquittal are scheduled for next month.

While the outcome of this trial was hopeful for Madigan, it is unclear whether it will have any impact on the former speaker’s case, which is much broader and more complex.

Madigan’s trial, originally scheduled for last spring, was delayed while the U.S. Supreme Court considered a federal bribery statute case. That decision, issued in June, narrowed the definition of “bribery” in federal criminal law to exclude “gratuities” – a gift given to a politician after an “official act” – and said that “the timing of the agreement, not the timing of payment, is crucial.” “

In response to the ruling, Madigan’s lawyers asked U.S. District Judge John Blakey to dismiss some of the bribery charges in the case, arguing that prosecutors did not allege that there was a “quid pro quo” between the former speaker and entities such as ComEd and AT.&T.

But this week, Blakey sided with prosecutors who argued for the so-called “stream of benefits” legal theory, which holds that a pattern of corrupt exchanges over a long period of time is sufficient evidence of a quid pro quo, even if he has no clue about it. proof of conclusion of a handshake agreement.

“Contrary to defendants’ characterizations, the indictment does not rely solely on the allegation that ComEd hired certain individuals recommended by Madigan and that, during the same period, Madigan voted for certain legislation affecting ComEd,” Blakey wrote in his Wednesday order. “Rather, it specifically alleges that Madigan performed official acts related to legislation affecting ComEd in exchange for ComEd hiring certain individuals.”

This summer, Blakey made a series of pretrial decisions in the Madigan case, which, along with last year’s Chicago Ald trial, will be one of the most high-profile political corruption cases this century. Ed Burke and former governors. Rod Blagojevich and George Ryan.

Due to the high-profile nature of the case, Blakey has set a jury selection schedule that will last at least four days and begin with an extensive questionnaire for 180 potential jurors. And when jury testimony begins Wednesday, no names will be released and the media will be barred from the courtroom, able to view only through an additional room elsewhere in the courthouse.

Opening arguments in the case are likely to begin on Monday, Oct. 15, although Blakey said this week that jury selection should take as long as needed. The trial will last until December 13.

Last week, a judge denied a request by Madigan’s lawyers to drop some of the charges against him.

They based their conclusion on a recent Supreme Court ruling in a bribery case against the former mayor of Portage.

Related coverage: How we got here

ComEd to pay $200 million as part of federal bribery investigation; Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan is involved in the case
House Speaker Michael Madigan is polling Democrats on whether he should resign
A House special committee is set to investigate Michael Madigan’s bribery allegations arising from the ComEd investigation
IL House Speaker Michael Madigan continues to lose support amid fallout from the ComEd investigation
Mike Madigan resigns as chairman of the Illinois Democratic Party
Former IL House Speaker Mike Madigan charged with bribery and racketeering
Former IL House Speaker Michael Madigan Charged with Racketeering, Bribery and More
Mike Madigan charged with crimes usually associated with the Chicago mob
Michael Madigan Indictment: Former House Speaker pleads not guilty in federal corruption case
Former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan has pleaded not guilty to all charges in a federal case
All defendants found guilty of all charges in ‘ComEd 4’ trial involving former Speaker Mike Madigan
Jury finds Mike Madigan confidant Tim Mapes guilty in perjury case
Lawyers for former Speaker Mike Madigan ask judge to dismiss 14 counts, citing recent SCOTUS ruling

The video in the player above is from an earlier report.

ABC7 Chicago contributed to this report.

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