[New post] Federal jury begins deliberating ComEd bribery case after prosecutors call four defendants ‘grand masters of corruption’
Barrington Hills Observer posted: " Federal jurors have begun to deliberate the case against four former political power players who were labeled Tuesday "grand masters of corruption" for their alleged conspiracy to bribe former Illinois House Speaker Michael J. Madigan to benefit ComEd. " The Barrington Hills Observer
After six weeks of trial, 12 jurors are considering the merits of the case that ended former House Speaker Michael Madigan's record-breaking grip on power.
Federal jurors have begun to deliberate the case against four former political power players who were labeled Tuesday "grand masters of corruption" for their alleged conspiracy to bribe former Illinois House Speaker Michael J. Madigan to benefit ComEd.
The deliberations come after six weeks of trial. Jurors heard from about 50 witnesses. And they heard a cache of secret FBI recordings resulting from an aggressive probe dating back to 2014 aimed at the once-powerful Southwest Side Democrat.
Now, the fate of four people who once had special access to Madigan is in the hands of 12 jurors, who will consider the merits of the case that ended Madigan's record-breaking grip on power.
Madigan confidant Michael McClain, former ComEd CEO Anne Pramaggiore, ex-ComEd lobbyist John Hooker and onetime City Club President Jay Doherty are accused of arranging for jobs, contracts and money for Madigan allies. The feds say the decade-long conspiracy amounted to an illegal bid to sway Madigan as legislation crucial to ComEd moved through Springfield.
Madigan is charged with racketeering in a separate indictment and faces trial in April 2024. He gave up the speaker's gavel in January 2021, two months after a grand jury handed up the indictment that triggered the current trial.
Jurors retired to begin their deliberations at 3:01 p.m. Tuesday after listening to roughly eight hours of closing arguments. The final pitches were made Tuesday, first by attorneys for Hooker and Doherty, and then by Assistant U.S. Attorney Amarjeet Bhachu, section chief of public corruption and organized crime.
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