The highly anticipated racketeering trial of former Illinois House Speaker Michael J. Madigan has been delayed amid questions surrounding the impacts of a pending Supreme Court ruling.
The trial, originally slated to begin in early April, will instead begin on Oct. 8, according to the ruling.
Madigan, accused of reaping benefits of private legal work that was illegally steered to his law firm, faces bribery and racketeering charges in connection with the ongoing case, as does Michael McClain, a former confidant of the speaker’s.
The Supreme Court case in question, James Snyder v. United States, involved allegations of corruption against the former mayor of Portage, Indiana. He was convicted in the case, but appealed the conviction amid questions of whether a bribery statute used in the case criminalizes “gratuities or rewards without a quid pro quo,” according to a summary of the case provided by the Chicago Sun-Times.
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Madigan and McClain’s attorneys argued that the legal questions in the Supreme Court case would have a direct impact on the corruption case facing the former speaker and the judge agreed, delaying the start of the trial pending the outcome of that appeal.
Meanwhile, a sentencing hearing for former Madigan chief of staff Tim Mapes is scheduled for later this month. Mapes was convicted of lying under oath to a grand jury about the case, and also was convicted on one count of attempted obstruction of justice.
Four other defendants were also convicted of a bribery conspiracy involving ComEd and Madigan, including two former ComEd executives and a former utility consultant.
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The indictment of Madigan was the result of a yearslong, aggressive public corruption investigation that also led to charges against former ComEd CEO Anne Pramaggiore, ex-ComEd lobbyist John Hooker and onetime City Club President Jay Doherty.
Madigan is accused of leading a “criminal enterprise” for nearly a decade designed to enhance his political power and generate income for his allies and associates. He ended his record-breaking tenure as Illinois’ House speaker amid the burgeoning scandal two years ago.
His trial would amount to the biggest public corruption trial at the Dirksen Federal Courthouse since the trials of former Gov. Rod Blagojevich.
The feds allege Madigan and McClain worked with onetime AT&T Illinois President Paul La Schiazza to have $22,500 paid to former state Rep. Edward Acevedo amid an attempt to influence Madigan in favor of the company.
