Prosecutors informed jurors within the corruption trial of ex-Illinois Home Speaker Michael J. Madigan they might select from an enormous swath of alleged crimes as they contemplate whether or not to convict the once-powerful politician of a racketeering conspiracy.
Assistant U.S. Lawyer Diane MacArthur ended the feds’ preliminary closing argument at 11:30 a.m. Friday after explaining the so-called “umbrella” racketeering depend that encompasses the entire alleged schemes prosecutors got down to show in Madigan’s practically four-month trial.
MacArthur informed jurors that Madigan and his longtime ally, Michael McClain, operated “as an ongoing unit.”
“They talked consistently,” she mentioned. “They met usually. They supported one another. They carried out their very own roles. … One gave the orders, and one executed them.”
In all, the feds’ argument lasted about 10 hours over three days. Madigan’s protection attorneys had been anticipated to start their closing argument after a lunch break Friday.
To convict Madigan of a racketeering conspiracy, jurors might want to discover that Madigan or McClain agreed that two so-called racketeering acts could be dedicated — not that they had been really carried out.
She mentioned jurors might discover that Madigan agreed to each acts, that every man agreed to at least one act, or that McClain agreed to each with out Madigan agreeing to any.
MacArthur provided examples: The alleged bribery schemes involving ex-Ald. Danny Solis’ bid for a state board seat or to develop a car parking zone in Chinatown, efforts by Madigan and McClain to put in businessman Juan Ochoa on ComEd’s board of administrators, and funds by ComEd and AT&T Illinois to Madigan allies that had been allegedly meant to affect Madigan.
The prosecutor even informed jurors that every fee to a Madigan ally from the utilities might quantity to a racketeering act.
“There are numerous funds made to every particular person subcontractor,” MacArthur mentioned.
The truth is, the lists of funds tied to the ComEd scheme take up roughly 20 pages of Madigan’s 117-page indictment.
MacArthur informed jurors that Madigan and McClain abused their positions “to take care of Madigan’s energy and purchase revenue for his private acquire.”
“For Madigan and McClain, the corrupt approach was the way in which it was,” MacArthur mentioned. “The way in which it continued to be.”
And to make her level concerning the sense of entitlement at play, she aired a recording of McClain complaining to Madigan’s son about individuals who didn’t like being pressured to rent somebody with political connections.
“That’s what occurs while you’re on this recreation,” McClain mentioned on the decision. He informed Madigan’s son that “it’d be simpler if everyone would simply obey, proper?” And he mentioned, “You by no means know, possibly sometime you possibly can ask for a favor … Hey? Dumb s—s.”
“Their use of utilities as benefit-fulfillment facilities, and this sense of entitlement — they need to get one thing from utilities as a result of they required laws — to satisfy their wants permeates this case,” MacArthur mentioned.
Prosecutors say Madigan led a legal enterprise made up of his public, political and personal workplaces designed to reinforce his political energy and monetary well-being, and to reward his associates.
