USA v. Madigan et al

  1. January 08, 2025

    Madigan Denies Extorting Developers For Law Firm Business

    Ex-Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan testified Wednesday that he never wanted a Chicago alderman to leverage his chairmanship of a powerful city council committee to steer business to Madigan's law firm, saying he merely asked for introductions to developers and felt "surprise and concern" when the alderman referenced a quid pro quo deal.

  2. January 07, 2025

    Ex-Ill. Speaker Madigan Testifies In His Racketeering Trial

    Former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan took the stand in his own defense Tuesday, testifying that he neither traded his public office for private gain nor demanded or accepted anything valuable in exchange for his official action, adding that he was "very angry" to learn that people who he'd recommended for jobs did little to no work.

  3. January 01, 2025

    Illinois Cases To Watch In 2025

    Jurors will decide the fate of one of Illinois' most powerful politicians after a monthslong criminal racketeering trial and appellate courts could settle the debate over the retroactivity of damage limits to the state's much-litigated biometric privacy law, in just a few of the Illinois cases to watch in 2025.

  4. December 09, 2024

    Ill. Congresswoman Denies Undue Influence From Madigan

    U.S. Rep. Nikki Budzinski was called to the witness stand Monday in the racketeering trial of former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan, where she testified that while she received multiple job recommendations from Madigan as a former senior aide to Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, those candidates were only hired if they were qualified.

  5. December 02, 2024

    Government Mole Faces Tough Cross From Madigan's Atty

    An attorney for former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan got his chance Monday to question the ex-Chicago alderman who recorded his client while cooperating with the government, pushing him to admit that Madigan never explicitly conditioned his support on legal business for his law firm or told the alderman to vote against developers who didn't hire him for tax work.

  6. November 26, 2024

    Madigan Pushed Land Transfer After Law Biz Pitch, Jury Told

    A former Chicago alderman testifying against ex-Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan told jurors Tuesday he connected prospective developers to Madigan, who lobbied to take on their legal work and soon after pushed legislation that would clear the way for their project.

  7. November 25, 2024

    Informant Says He Brought Developers To Madigan's Law Firm

    An ex-Chicago alderman who wore a wire to meetings with former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan was back on the stand Monday describing how he arranged a meeting with developers of a Chicago apartment building at Madigan's law office, with jurors hearing a call in which Madigan said to "go ahead and process" a zoning change for that project after the alderman asked if the developer gave him legal work.

  8. November 21, 2024

    Key Informant Who Recorded Madigan Takes The Stand

    A former Chicago alderman who prosecutors have deemed one of their "most significant cooperators in the last several decades" took the stand Thursday afternoon and began what is expected to be multiple days of testimony in the racketeering trial of ex-Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan, whom he secretly recorded while working with the government.

  9. November 13, 2024

    Madigan's Atty Seeks To Discredit Key Government Witness

    The cross-examination of a former ComEd executive who wore a wire for the government as it built its corruption case against ex-Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan veered Wednesday into the informant's messy divorce proceedings and his failure to disclose felony charges when trying to buy a gun to kill snakes, as Madigan's attorneys tried to call his credibility into question.

  10. November 12, 2024

    Ex-ComEd Exec Asked If Madigan Hires Truly An 'Exchange'

    Defense attorneys got their chance Tuesday to grill an ex-Commonwealth Edison executive who testified the utility hired people who did little to no work at the behest of former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan, asking if it truly traded those jobs for Madigan's action on ComEd legislation or if the company was just building goodwill with a key decision-maker.