Prosecutors see no reason to delay Madigan trial
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[January 03, 2024]
By Brett Rowland | The Center Square
(The Center Square) – Federal prosecutors said Tuesday that former
Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan's corruption trial shouldn't be
delayed while the U.S. Supreme Court considers another case focused on
the federal bribery statute.
Prosecutors wrote that most of the charges Madigan faces at his trial –
set to start in April – don't involve the federal bribery law. They
noted that 15 of 23 counts Madigan faces wouldn't be affected by the
Supreme Court decision in Snyder v. United States.
The Supreme Court decided in December to take up that case, which
involves the former mayor of Portage, Indiana, who was convicted of
accepting a $13,000 bribe. A decision in the Snyder case is expected in
June.
Prosecutors argued Tuesday that a delay could affect their case, which
they allege encompasses a nearly decade long conspiracy by two
state-regulated companies to dole out jobs and contracts to Madigan in
exchange for favorable legislation in Springfield.
"This case involves witness testimony that concerns events that
occurred, in some cases, more than a decade ago," prosecutors wrote.
"Any further delay (particularly the extended delay the defense seeks)
poses potential challenges to the future availability of witnesses and
impairment of their memories about events that occurred long ago."
They also argued that the court's long backlog of cases could further
delay the trial.
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"The government, the public, and this Court have a strong interest in
finality and bringing this criminal case to a close," Assistant U.S.
Attorney Amarjeet Bhachu wrote in the motion.
Prosecutors noted that "the Northern District of Illinois ranks almost
last in the entire country in terms of the time it takes to resolve
federal criminal cases; this district is in 92nd place out of 94 U.S.
district courts when it comes to the median time from criminal felony
case filing to disposition."
Madigan and co-defendant Michael McClain had asked U.S. District Court
Judge John Robert Blakey to stay proceedings in the case or reschedule
the trial date to the fall of 2024, after the Supreme Court decides the
Synder case.
Madigan served in the Illinois House from 1971 to 2021. He served as
speaker of the Illinois House from 1983 to 1995 and again from 1997 to
2021. That made him one of the state's most powerful politicians,
especially in combination with 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 said he was just
doing his job as a politician. He has pleaded not guilty.
Madigan was initially charged along with McClain in March 2022 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. |