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Madigan's defense team said he would not be able to get a fair
trial if prosecutors presented all the evidence they wanted to
show a jury.
"With relentless pretrial publicity already undermining
Madigan's right to receive a fair trial, the government now
seeks to compound the problem by asking the Court's permission
to admit a laundry list of inadmissible, irrelevant, and unduly
prejudicial evidence," Madigan's defense team wrote in a motion
filed Monday. "Allowing the government to elicit testimony about
irrelevant controversial topics like gaming legislation, sexual
harassment allegations in Springfield, and the so-called 'Metra
scandal' will dispel any prospect of Mike Madigan receiving a
fair trial."
The defense team said the prosecutors' approach was wrong.
"The government's kitchen sink approach, if this Court accepts,
would result in unfair prejudice to Madigan, allowing the jury
to decide this case based upon emotion, bias, and persuasive
propensity inferences, and will inevitably lead to several
'mini-trials' independent of the wide-ranging allegations
contained in the 117-page superseding indictment in this case,"
they wrote.
Madigan served in the Illinois House from 1971 to 2021, as
speaker from 1983 to 1995 and again from 1997 to 2021. That made
him one of the state's most powerful politicians, especially
given his role as head of the Democratic party in the state. He
faces 23 counts of racketeering, bribery, and official
misconduct as part of a federal indictment. Madigan has pleaded
not guilty.
In March 2022, Madigan and convicted former lawmaker and
lobbyist Michael McClain were charged with 22 counts of
racketeering and bribery for his alleged improper dealings with
the state's largest utility, ComEd. Prosecutors further alleged
that he used his political power to unlawfully steer business to
his private law firm, Madigan & Getzendanner.
In October 2022, prosecutors filed a superseding indictment that
charged Madigan and McClain with conspiracy related to an
alleged corruption scheme involving AT&T Illinois.
A jury convicted McClain and three other former ComEd executives
and lobbyists on multiple counts of corruption in a 2023 trial.
McClain has yet to be sentenced in that case.
Madigan and McClain are set to go to trial in October.
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