Jury selection expected to take days, trial expected to last months
CHICAGO (WLS) -- The corruption trial for former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan began this week.
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.
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.
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.
Opening statements are now expected to begin next Thursday at the earliest in former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan's corruption trial.
Attorneys and the federal judge presiding over the case previously hoped opening statements could begin Tuesday, but jury selection has been slow-going.
Five more jurors have been selected for the corruption trial of former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan.
The jurors were selected Thursday afternoon, bringing the total to eight.
Eighteen total will be needed, including alternates.
Former Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan and his co-defendant did not appear to openly acknowledge each other in court Thursday.
Madigan and Mike McClain sat at separate defense tables.
Despite their documented close relationship that dates back to the 1970s, neither man appeared to acknowledge the other.
The men are charged in an expansive 117-page racketeering indictment.
Both Madigan and McClain have pleaded not guilty.
The trial of former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan continues Thursday, with jury selection.
Fifteen jurors were dismissed before the start of proceedings around 9 a.m., but jury selection continues to be behind schedule.
The judge presiding over the case said, given the current pace, the jury would likely be selected by the end of next week, rather than this week, as planned.
But, questioning has gone from an average of 36 minutes to 21 minutes per juror.
