Prosecutors allege abuse of power, long pattern of corrupt conduct as opening statements in landmark Madigan trial begin

Ex-Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan used his perch at the very top of state politics to betray the public trust, federal prosecutors said in opening statements at Madigan’s public corruption trial Monday.

“Madigan abused his power and used the organization he led to engage in a pattern of corrupt conduct over and over and over again,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah Streicker told jurors.

Alongside Madigan, Streicker said, was his longtime ally and now co-defendant Michael McClain, who “shielded Madigan, disguising Madigan’s involvement in corrupt activity.”

“Together the defendants engaged in a campaign of bribery,” she said. “A campaign of bribery through which they seized opportunities to leverage Madigan’s immense power in Illinois government to seek and accept bribes from people who needed something from the government … this racket went on for years.”

Madigan had several supporters in the front row of the courtroom gallery, including his wife Shirley and his daughter Lisa, who is the former attorney general of Illinois.

To the Madigan family’s left sat McClain’s wife Cinda, who was present for much of jury selection.

Madigan sat at the head of his defense table in a gray suit and tie, while McClain sat behind him at a separate table. Throughout the two long weeks of jury selection, the longtime allies barely interacted at all.

Streicker described a crooked codependency between Madigan and McClain, in which Madigan used McClain to do the dirtiest work and McClain referred to Madigan as his “real client.”

Madigan demanded loyalty Streicker said. He did not use a cell phone or email.

“Instead he spoke through a very small inner circle whom he trusted. Most prominent in this inner circle was defendant Michael McClain,” Streicker said, telling jurors  McClain was a “self-described soldier” for Madigan.

Madigan trusted McClain for handling sensitive matters for him, Streicker said. When Madigan didn’t want his fingerprints on something he gave it to McClain, she said, and witnesses will testify that when McClain asked for certain things, they knew the ask was coming from Madigan.

“McClain handled Madigan’s dirty work, and as you will hear on the recordings, this was a role that McClain relished,” the prosecutor said.

Opening statements in the case kicked off after completion of an often-tedious jury selection process that stretched on for nearly two weeks.

The final two alternate jurors were selected Monday: a former University of Illinois-Chicago social work professor and a North Side aircraft mechanic who enjoys watching “Project Runway.”

“We have a jury,” U.S. District Judge John Robert Blakey said Monday afternoon. “Hallelujah!”

Madigan, 82, the “Velvet Hammer” who served for decades as speaker of the Illinois House and the head of the state Democratic Party, faces racketeering charges alleging he ran his state and political operations like a criminal enterprise, scheming with utility giants ComEd and AT&T to put his cronies on contracts requiring little or no work and using his public position to drum up business for his private law firm.

Both Madigan and his co-defendant, Michael McClain, 77, a former ComEd lobbyist, have pleaded not guilty and denied wrongdoing. The eight-woman, four-man panel of regular jurors was finalized Thursday after six long days of in-court questioning. The panel includes at least six people from Chicago, including two from the city’s 19th Ward on the Far Southwest Side. Others hail from as far away as Aurora, Downers Grove and Ingleside in northern Lake County.

Many of those selected said they had heard of Madigan only in passing and did not know the details of the charges against him, other than an occasional news report. At least three said they wanted to be selected for the historic trial for varying reasons. All of them promised attorneys that they could put aside whatever they’d heard and render a fair verdict.

The trial, which is scheduled to last at least 11 weeks, is the culmination of one of the biggest political corruption investigations ever to unfold at the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse, given Madigan’s stature as the longest-serving leader of any legislative chamber in the nation who for decades wielded an ironclad grip on the state legislature as well as the Democratic Party and its political spoils.

While the courthouse has seen a parade of powerful aldermen, legislators and even governors come and go — including most recently former Ald. Edward Burke, who was convicted in December of racketeering and is now serving a two-year prison sentence — none has had Madigan’s unique combination of longevity and influence over issues that affects every corner of the state. Madigan was dethroned as speaker in early 2021 as the investigation swirled around him, and soon after resigned the House seat he’d held since 1971.

After his indictment in March 2022, he issued a statement denying he ever engaged in any criminal activity and blasting prosecutors for “attempting to criminalize” legal political actions.

“Throughout my 50 years as a public servant, I worked to address the needs of my constituents, always keeping in mind the high standards required and the trust the public placed in me,” Madigan said. “I adamantly deny these accusations and look back proudly on my time as an elected official, serving the people of Illinois.”

To bolster their case against Madigan, prosecutors plan to call a familiar lineup of former Democratic insiders and experts, some of whom will be testifying for the second or third time. Among them: Democratic state Rep. Bob Rita, who testified in the ComEd Four case that Madigan ruled “through fear and intimidation”; Tom Cullen, a lobbyist and former Madigan political guru who testified about the speaker’s absolute power over what legislation moved through the House; Ed Moody, the legendary 13th Ward precinct captain who was given a no-show consulting job with ComEd; and Will Cousineau, who explained that last-minute arm-twisting orchestrated by Madigan on the House floor in 2016 got major ComEd legislation over the hump.

Madigan’s jury will also hear from another key cooperator, former ComEd Vice President Fidel Marquez, who flipped after being confronted by the FBI in early 2019 and recorded a series of meetings with McClain, then-CEO Anne Pramaggiore, lobbyist John Hooker and consultant Jay Doherty in which they talked about their secret efforts to pay Madigan’s associates.

But the biggest difference this time around — other than Madigan himself sitting at the defense table — will be the testimony of Solis, the prosecution’s star witness who made dozens of undercover video and audio recordings of Madigan beginning in 2016 that have not yet been seen or heard in public. Solis is not expected to hit the stand until sometime in November, and his testimony could last a week or more, depending on what surely will be a lengthy cross-examination.

jmeisner@chicagotribune.com

mcrepeau@chicagotribune.com

rlong@chicagotribune.com