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 continues Wednesday in the trial of former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan at the Dirksen Federal Courthouse.
Potential jurors will be interviewed.
The process was expected to begin about 9 a.m.
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.
The jury selection process in former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan's corruption trial has been slow thus far on the first day of interviews Wednesday.
Only five potential jurors had been interviewed by about noon.
Two more were dismissed before lunch.
The judge hearing the case asked attorneys for an estimate of how long selection might take. They said they believe they can still do it in three days.
Jury selection continues Wednesday in the trial of former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan at the Dirksen Federal Courthouse.
Potential jurors will be interviewed.
The process was expected to begin about 9 a.m.
Legal expert Chris Hotaling talks about the jury selection process at the Michael Madigan trial, including the progress made on day one, what attorneys on both sides are looking for in a juror and how quickly the case will get underway once a jury is seated.
Lawyers on Tuesday hammered out a few last-minute issues involving evidence and jury instructions before testimony begins.
But, the majority of their time was spent discussing a prosecution witness who filed a sexual harassment complaint in 2017 against a political operative in Madigan's organization, Kevin Quinn.
Quinn was eventually fired.
Prosecutors want to call Alaina Hampton to show a pattern of behavior.
Defense attorneys want limits on Hampton's testimony, saying it would be highly prejudicial and irrelevant to bring in sexual harassment claims.
Charged along with Madigan is former ComEd lobbyist Michael McClain.
A federal grand jury handed down a superseding indictment in October 2022, adding a new charge of conspiracy.
According to the indictment, his job was to conceal and hide the illegal operation of the enterprise shielding Madigan from the criminal activity.
Prosecutors say because Madigan's co-defendant McClain worked to funnel secret payments to help Quinn, it will help establish a pattern of concealed payments, which are part of the conspiracy alleged against Madigan.
