Ald. Patrick Daley Thompson Chicago trial date remains on hold

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Well-known Chicago alderman Patrick Daley Thompson was supposed to be on trial Tuesday in a federal financial misconduct case alleging that he lied to U.S. regulators.

The trial at Chicago's Dirksen federal building was suddenly put on hold last week when a family medical problem cropped up for the lead prosecutor in the case.

During a contentious hearing-by-phone Tuesday on when to proceed with the delayed trial, Judge Franklin U. Valderrama offered to reset 11th Ward Alderman Thompson's trial for March 1, 2022.

"Absolutely unacceptable," said Chris Gair, Thompson's attorney and a former Chicago federal prosecutor. "There are 150 other prosecutors in that office. We have been eager to go to trial."

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"This is a very simple case," he said, with a total monetary loss of $15,000 that would take only a week or two to complete.

Federal attorneys assigned to Thompson's prosecution also balked at the March date, stating they had a conflict with a related, multi-defendant prosecution involving the now-defunct Washington Federal bank. That trial is expected to take several months.

With the latest wrench in the legal works, Judge Valderrama dangled the possibility of a February trial date for Thompson, but made no decision on it.

The judge pushed a decision on setting a new trial date to Oct. 27 at 9:30 a.m. At that time, the government and attorneys representing Thompson will gather to determine when the case will move forward.

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