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Mike Madigan trial updates: Jury hears more testimony in ex-speaker trial

Trial expected to last months

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Last updated: Tuesday, October 29, 2024 10:03PM GMT
Ex-ComEd general counsel gets to heart of corruption in Madigan trial
Former ComEd General Counsel Thomas O'Neill got to the heart of the corruption charges in ex-IL Speaker Mike Madigan's trial Monday.

CHICAGO (WLS) -- The corruption trial for former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan has begun.

Madigan had been indicted on federal racketeering and bribery charges as a part of what federal prosecutors call "the Madigan enterprise," where they say he allegedly committed crimes for his personal gain and that of his political allies.

The blockbuster trial is expected to take several months.

Check back with ABC7 Chicago for live updates.

Key Headlines

Here's how the news is developing.
Michelle Gallardo Image
ByMichelle Gallardo WLS logo
Nov 20, 2024, 8:36 PM

Former ComEd general counsel gets to heart of corruption charges

In his day-long testimony, ComEd's former General Counsel Tom O'Neill got to the heart of the corruption charges against Madigan and his co-defendant, Mike McClain.

O'Neill described the utility giant as one which, in July of 2010, was in a "precarious financial position": a company in desperate need of a new way to set customer rates.

Former ComEd General Counsel Thomas O'Neill got to the heart of the corruption charges in ex-IL Speaker Mike Madigan's trial Monday.

Tasked with helping to make that happen, O'Neill spent the next six and a half years going back and forth to Springfield, negotiating and drafting three major pieces of legislation that were critical to turning around ComEd's fortunes.

"I got asked frequently, if not constantly: Does the speaker support this? Or, where is the speaker on this?" O'Neill testified.

He said the company relied in large measure on contract lobbyist McClain for access to Madigan.

"Mr. McClain had free access in the speaker's suite," said O'Neill, who went on to connect the dots for prosecutors.

They drew a direct line between the legislation pushes and a contract entered into by ComEd, in October 2011, with Reyes Kurson, a law firm headed up by Victor Reyes, a political ally of Madigan's.

The contract was agreed to just as the General Assembly voted to override Gov. Pat Quinn's veto of ComEd's first big legislative push. When some years later O'Neill attempted to cut the law firm's hours, as yet another ComEd bill was getting ready to be voted on, ComEd's CEO Anne Pramaggiore received an email from McClain.

"I'm sure you know how valuable Victor is to our Friend," McClain said. "I know the drill and so do you. If you do not get involved and resolve this issue of 850 hours for his law firm per year then he will go to our Friend. Our Friend will call me and then I will call you. Is this a drill we must go through?"

Prosecutors said the "Friend" was Madigan.

Ultimately, the contract was renewed several months later, right around the same time ComEd's third major legislative push ended successfully in Springfield. O'Neill returns to the witness stand Tuesday, when he is expected to be extensively cross-examined by defense lawyers.

WLS logo
Nov 20, 2024, 8:36 PM GMT

What to expect from months-long Madigan trial

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 circled ever-closer to his inner circle.

Madigan was once considered the most powerful politician in Illinois, serving as House speaker for a total of 36 years. The 82-year-old ex-speaker faces bribery and racketeering charges - along with his longtime friend and powerful Springfield lobbyist Mike McClain - in a case that frames Madigan's power in government, politics and as a partner in his law firm as a criminal enterprise.

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

The trial, which is scheduled to last through mid-December, is the culmination of more than a decade of digging by the FBI and prosecutors, and it's the final in a series of related cases that have played out in Chicago's federal courthouse over the last few years.

Opening statements in the case are likely to begin on Tuesday, Oct. 15, though Blakey this week said jury selection should take as long as it needs. The trial is scheduled through Dec. 13.

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