Prosecutors deny Supreme Court ruling sinks Madigan corruption case

[July 31, 2024]  By Brett Rowland | The Center Square

(The Center Square) – Federal prosecutors said a narrow U.S. Supreme Court ruling on the federal bribery statute doesn't sink their corruption case against former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan.

Defense attorneys for Madigan and co-defendant Michael McClain, a close Madigan associate, have said the case should be dropped after the Supreme Court blunted the federal bribery statute's scope with a June decision.

Prosecutors told a judge that's plain wrong.

"This dog will not hunt," prosecutors wrote in a recent motion.

In their 113-page response, prosecutors asked U.S. District Judge John Robert Blakey to reject the motion from Madigan's defense team. They argued that "the superseding indictment in this case amply alleges that Madigan engaged in bribery" and "there is no basis to disturb" any of the counts.

"As the defendants would have it, nearly every single criminal statute targeting corruption referenced in the superseding indictment, including decades-old corruption measures passed by both the United States Congress as well as the Illinois General Assembly – a body which Madigan himself helmed for nearly forty years no less – is either unconstitutional or incomprehensible," prosecutors 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.

Former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan walks out of the Everett M. Dirksen U.S. Courthouse in Chicago on Wednesday, Jan. 3, 2024. - By Brett Rowland | The Center Square

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 about an alleged corruption scheme involving AT&T Illinois.

In May 2023, a jury convicted McClain and three other ComEd executives and lobbyists in a separate case involving similar allegations, but he has yet to be sentenced in that case.

Madigan's case is set to go to trial at 9:30 a.m. Oct. 8 in Courtroom 1203.

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