Potential jurors in the trial of ex-House speaker Michael Madigan have begun to fill out questionnaires, the first step in selecting a panel to determine Madigan’s fate.
With their arrival, the biggest Illinois public corruption trial in more than a decade has officially – albeit quietly – begun.
More than 1,000 jury summons were sent out to residents across Northeast Illinois. The “vast majority” could not be available for a trial as long as Madigan’s, U.S District Judge John Robert Blakey said in court last week.
But 180 prospective jurors are expected to answer questions this week, beginning Tuesday with a lengthy questionnaire. In-person questioning is expected to begin Wednesday. If the full panel of 12 jurors and 6 alternates is selected in time, they will hear opening statements Oct. 15.
Defense attorneys, citing years of attack adds by Republicans and enormous pretrial publicity, wanted to hire a company to research jurors’ Internet presences so lawyers could screen for signs of bias. Blakey rejected that request. However, during the jury selection period, attorneys will be allowed to do basic Internet searches about the prospective jurors and their public social media postings.
Former Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan walks across Dearborn Street toward the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse on Oct. 2, 2024, for the final in-person hearing before his Oct. 8 trial begins. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune)
Former Speaker of the Illinois House Michael Madigan is seen during a break in his hearing held at Dirksen U.S. Courthouse on Sept. 16, 2024. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune)
Former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan, second from left, arrives at the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse in Chicago with his legal defense team on July 16, 2024, for a hearing on pretrial motions in his racketeering case. (Terrence Antonio James/Chicago Tribune)
Former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan, foreground, leaves the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse in Chicago on Jan. 3, 2024. (Terrence Antonio James/Chicago Tribune)
Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune
Former Illinois Speaker of the House Michael Madigan arrives to his office in Chicago on Oct. 18, 2021.
Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune
Former Illinois Speaker Michael Madigan departs from his lawyers’ office, March 9, 2022, after making his first virtual court appearance for his indictment.
Zbigniew Bzdak / Chicago Tribune
Speaker Michael Madigan arrives for the Illinois House Democratic caucus during a spring session of the General Assembly at the Illinois Capitol in Springfield in 2019.
Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune
Former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan walks on his second-floor patio at his Chicago home on March 3, 2022.
Zbigniew Bzdak, Chicago Tribune
House Speaker Michael Madigan listens Dec. 3, 2013, after introducing a bill to overhaul the state government worker pension system.
Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune
Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan after a meeting with Gov.-elect Bruce Rauner and Senate President John Cullerton in Chicago on Nov. 13, 2014.
Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune
After a meeting with then-Gov. Bruce Rauner (not shown), Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan prepares to address the media at the State of Illinois Building in Chicago on Dec. 6, 2016.
E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune
Speaker Michael Madigan stands over lawmakers on the House floor before Gov. J.B. Pritzker delivers his first budget address Feb. 20, 2019, at the Illinois State Capitol in Springfield.
Chuck Berman, Chicago Tribune
House Speaker Michael Madigan answers questions at a press availability Jan. 24, 2012, after he addressed the fifth annual Elmhurst College Governmental Forum.
Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune
Michael Madigan arrives to his West Lawn home on March 2, 2022 before it was announced he was indicted on federal racketeering charges.
John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune
A broadcast news reporter knocks on the door at the home of former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan in the West Lawn neighborhood on March 2, 2022, in Chicago.
Zbigniew Bzdak, Chicago Tribune
House Speaker Michael Madigan introduces the pension reform bill Dec. 3, 2013.
Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune
House Speaker Michael Madigan, left, speaks with House Majority Leader Rep. Greg Harris before Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s budget address in Springfield on Feb. 19, 2020.
Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune
Former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan talks during a meeting where his replacement, Angie Guerrero-Cuellar, was chosen Feb. 25, 2021, at the Balzekas Museum in West Lawn.
Zbigniew Bzdak / Chicago Tribune
Speaker of the House Michael Madigan leaves after the Democratic Caucus on May 31, 2017.
Michael Tercha, Chicago Tribune
House Speaker Michael Madigan talks with state Rep. Elaine Nekritz as they prepare to present a state pension reform plan to the Personnel and Pensions Committee on May 29, 2012.
William DeShazer, Chicago Tribune
House Speaker Michael Madigan, center, listens after speaking to the Personnel and Pensions Committee meeting May 26, 2011.
Charles Osgood, Chicago Tribune
House Speaker Michael Madigan convenes the House on June 26, 2004.
Abel Uribe, Chicago Tribune
House Speaker Michael Madigan listens to the debate about Resolution 1650, which he co-sponsored, as the process of impeaching Gov. Rod Blagojevich begins Dec. 15, 2008.
Zbigniew Bzdak / Chicago Tribune
House Speaker Michael Madigan watches as the Illinois House votes on a bill raising statewide minimum wage during a session at the State Capitol in Springfield on Feb. 14, 2019.
Chris Walker, Chicago Tribune
House Speaker Michael Madigan leaves his Capitol office Feb. 28, 2013.
Nancy Stone, Chicago Tribune
House Speaker Michael Madigan, from left, Gov. Pat Quinn and Senate leader John Cullerton sit next to one another Aug 19, 2009, at Governor’s Day at the Illinois State Fair.
Nancy Stone, Chicago Tribune
House Speaker Michael Madigan waits for official notice from the Senate that they have voted to form a conference committee during a special session in Springfield on June 19, 2013.
Stacey Wescott, Chicago Tribune
House Speaker Michael Madigan, left, celebrates with state Rep. Jay Hoffman on July 24, 2004, after both houses of the legislature passed the 2005 budget after going 51 days into special session.
Abel Uribe, Chicago Tribune
House Speaker Michael Madigan, left, and Senate President John Cullerton confer March 18, 2009, as Gov. Pat Quinn delivers his proposal for the 2010 state budget in the House.
Michael Tercha, Chicago Tribune
House Speaker Michael Madigan greets AFSCME’s Henry Bayer along with other opposition members before he presents a state pension reform plan to the Personnel and Pensions Committee on May 29, 2012.
John Lee, Chicago Tribune
Newly elected House GOP Leader Tom Cross, left, and House Speaker Michael Madigan chat Nov. 21, 2002, before the start of session at the Capitol in Springfield.
Michael Tercha, Chicago Tribune
House Speaker Michael Madigan shares the stage with Gov. Rod Blagojevich and state Sen. Debbie Halvorson, D-Chicago Heights, on Aug. 15, 2007, at the Democratic rally at the Illinois State Fairgrounds for Governor’s Day in Springfield.
E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune
Speaker of the House Michael Madigan on his 70th birthday on the House floor at the Illinois State Capitol in Springfield on April 19, 2012.
Charles Osgood, Chicago Tribune
Gov. Rod Blagojevich, from left, Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley and House Speaker Michael Madigan enjoy Democratic Day on Aug. 16, 2006, at the Illinois State Fair in Springfield
Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune
House Speaker Michael Madigan speaks Aug. 17, 2017, at the annual Democratic Chairman’s Brunch in Springfield.
Jose M. Osorio, Chicago Tribune
House Speaker Michael Madigan, left, introduces newly elected Gov. Rod Blagojevich in the House gallery in Springfield on Dec. 4, 2002.
William DeShazer, Chicago Tribune
Speaker Michael Madigan oversees House proceedings Jan. 6, 2011, at the state Capitol.
Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune
Michael Madigan, then speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives, in the Capitol building in Springfield on Jan. 24, 2017.
Michael Tercha, Chicago Tribune
House Speaker Michael Madigan, D-Chicago, left, greets supporters as they arrive for the 32nd Annual Democratic Evening on the Lake fundraiser May 8, 2012, at Island Bay Yacht Club in Springfield
E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune
Speaker Michael Madigan on the floor as the Illinois House of Representatives convenes at the Bank of Springfield Center on Jan. 8, 2021.
Abel Uribe, Chicago Tribune
Rod Blagojevich, center, shakes hands with Michael Madigan after his speech at the Illinois State Fair on Aug. 15, 2002.
Charles Osgood, Chicago Tribune
House Speaker Michael Madigan, right, tries to get the attention of the acting speaker June 24, 2004, with the help of his spokesman, Steve Brown, left.
Zbigniew Bzdak / Chicago Tribune
Michael Madigan speaking to the media on June 30, 2015.
Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune
Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan and his wife, Illinois Arts Council Agency Chairwoman Shirley Madigan, kiss after she testified in support of the Obama presidential library being located in Chicago on April 17, 2014.
Abel Uribe, Chicago Tribune
Gov. Pat Quinn, from left, House Speaker Michael Madigan, Ald. Ed Burke, and state Sen. Martin Sandoval attend a groundbreaking for a new UNO high school July 12, 2012, in Chicago.
Michael Tercha, Chicago Tribune
House Speaker Michael Madigan, center, along with his research and appropriations director, John Lowder, left, and state Rep. Elaine Nekritz, D-Northbrook, presents a state pension reform plan to the Personnel and Pensions Committee on May 29, 2012.
E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune
House Speaker Michael Madigan congratulates Gov. J.B. Pritzker after Pritzker’s first budget address at the Illinois State Capitol in 2019.
Zbigniew Bzdak, Chicago Tribune
House Speaker Michael Madigan talks to Rep. Carol Sente on Dec. 3, 2013, after a vote on a bill to overhaul the state government worker pension system.
Heather Stone, Chicago Tribune
House Speaker Michael Madigan and his wife, Shirley, join supporters as their daughter Lisa Madigan kicks off her campaign for state attorney general Dec. 2, 2001.
Zbigniew Bzdak / Chicago Tribune
House Speaker Michael Madigan talks with House Republican Leader Jim Durkin before a debate at Illinois House to vote on a bill raising statewide minimum wage during a session at the State Capitol in Springfield on Feb. 14, 2019.
Antonio Perez, Chicago Tribune
Michael Madigan and daughter Nicole tour the Science Academy of Chicago during its grand opening event March 8, 2013, in Mount Prospect.
Zbigniew Bzdak / Chicago Tribune
Senate President John Cullerton and House Speaker Michael Madigan talk to the media after meeting with Gov. Bruce Rauner on the last day of the Illinois General Assembly at the State Capitol in Springfield on May 31, 2016.
E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune
Speaker Michael Madigan works the floor as the Illinois House convenes at the Bank of Springfield Center on Jan. 8, 2021.
Michael Tercha, Chicago Tribune
Illinois Comptroller Judy Baar Topinka, center, talks with House Speaker Michael Madigan and his wife, Shirley, during the inaugural ceremony for constitutional officers on Jan. 10, 2011.
Seth Perlman / AP
House Speaker Michael Madigan and Senate President John Cullerton on the floor of the General Assembly in Springfield on June 16, 2015.
Michael Tercha, Chicago Tribune
House Speaker Michael Madigan, left, greets Gov. Rod Blagojevich on Aug. 18, 2004, during the Governor’s Day Rally at the Illinois State Fairgrounds.
Nancy Stone, Chicago Tribune
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, from left, Secretary of State Jesse White, Gov. Pat Quinn and House Speaker Michael Madigan are represented in the roll call vote for Barack Obama at the Democratic National Convention on Sept. 5, 2012, in Charlotte, N.C.
Terrence Antonio James, Chicago Tribune
Gov. Pat Quinn, left, and House Speaker Michael Madigan testify on campaign finance reform May 29, 2009, in front of a House committee at the Capitol in Springfield.
Chris Walker, Chicago Tribune
As Illinois legislators continued work on a state budget, House Speaker Michael Madigan took time to attend an AFL-CIO labor rally April 24, 2002, at the Capitol.
Michael Tercha, Chicago Tribune
House Speaker Michael Madigan, left, and Senate President John Cullerton confer before Gov. Pat Quinn delivers his budget address to a combined session of the Illinois Legislature on Feb. 16, 2011.
Zbigniew Bzdak / Chicago Tribune
House Speaker Michael Madigan during the General Assembly fall session on Dec. 3, 2014.
E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune
House Speaker Michael Madigan appears on the floor as the Illinois House convenes at the Bank of Springfield Center on Jan. 8, 2021. Lawmakers returned for a lame-duck session that marks the first time they convened in Springfield since a May special session.
Chris Walker, Chicago Tribune
House Speaker Michael Madigan, right, talks with Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel in Gov. Pat Quinn’s office July 26, 2011, at the James R. Thompson Center.
José Moré, Chicago Tribune
House Speaker Michael Madigan heads a committee hearing in January 2007 regarding a rate hike requested by ComEd.
Carl Wagner, Chicago Tribune
House Speaker Michael Madigan, right, talks with Earl Oliver, president and executive secretary-treasurer of the Chicago Regional Council of Carpenters, in Oliver’s office on Oct. 16, 1998.
Heather Stone, Chicago Tribune
House Speaker Michael Madigan talks about the budget after meeting with the governor May 24, 2001, at the state Capitol in Springfield.
Michael Tercha, Chicago Tribune
Senate President John Cullerton, left, and House Speaker Michael Madigan tell a reporter there is no bad blood between them after a meeting with Gov. Pat Quinn on June 10, 2013, to discuss pension reform legislation.
Charles Osgood, Chicago Tribune
Gov. Rod Blagojevich greets House Speaker Michael Madigan and Senate President Emil Jones on Feb. 16, 2005, before his speech delivering his budget to a joint session in the House chambers.
Zbigniew Bzdak / Chicago Tribune
House Speaker Michael Madigan listens to a debate on the House floor in 2019.
Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune
House Speaker Michael Madigan in the State Capitol building in Springfield on Jan. 24, 2017.
Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune
House Speaker Michael Madigan, right, chats with Senate President John Cullerton before Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner gives his State of the State speech at the Illinois State Capitol on Jan. 31, 2018 in Springfield.
E. Jason Wambsgans, Chicago Tribune
Minority Leader Tom Cross, left, joined by Speaker Michael Madigan, presents pension reform legislation Dec. 15, 2011, before the House Personnel and Pensions Committee.
Nancy Stone, Chicago Tribune
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel is applauded by House Speaker Michael Madigan Sept. 5, 2012, as he finishes speaking at the Illinois delegation breakfast in Charlotte, N.C.
Zbigniew Bzdak / Chicago Tribune
House Speaker Michael Madigan holds a news conference at the Capitol in Springfield on June 30, 2015.
Chris Walker, Chicago Tribune
Gov. George Ryan, left, leading a delegation of business, cultural and humanitarian leaders along with senior state officials on a trip to Cuba, joins in lunch conversation on the plane Oct. 23, 1999, with House Speaker Michael Madigan.
José Moré, Chicago Tribune
Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley, left, chats with House Speaker Michael Madigan as they look over the newly renovated House chambers May 16, 2007, in Springfield.
Abel Uribe, Chicago Tribune
House Speaker Michael Madigan chats with Rep. Calvin Giles on March 24, 2004, during a hearing about the governor’s plan to take over the Illinois State Board of Education.
Scott Strazzante, Chicago Tribune
House Speaker Michael Madigan acknowledges applause from Sen. Debbie Halvorson, foreground, and the rest of the Senate on May 31, 2003, at the state Capitol.
E. Jason Wambsgans, Chicago Tribune
Speaker Michael Madigan on the House floor May 31, 2013.
Zbigniew Bzdak, Chicago Tribune
House Speaker Michael Madigan walks through the state Capitol in Springfield on Dec. 3, 2013, to vote on a bill to overhaul the state government worker pension system.
Chicago Tribune
Gov. James Thompson, from left, poses with House Speaker Michael Madigan and Mayor Harold Wahington on Oct. 19, 1983, before their meeting on the Regional Transportation Authority. They are trying to reach a deal on reorganization of the agency in exchange for a $75 million state subsidy.
Chicago Tribune
House Speaker George Ryan, from left, Senate President Phillip Rock, Chicago Mayor Jane Byrne, Sen. James Pate Philip and House Minority Leader Michael Madigan on June 4, 1981.
Chuck Berman / Chicago Tribune
Gov. James Thompson, right, and House Speaker Michael Madigan in Madigan’s office to work out school reform on July 1, 1988, in Springfield.
Alton Kaste, Chicago Tribune
Committeeman Michael Madigan, 13th Ward, speaks before the park board July 28, 1970.
Chicago Tribune
Committeeman Michael Madigan, circa 1970.
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Former Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan walks across Dearborn Street toward the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse on Oct. 2, 2024, for the final in-person hearing before his Oct. 8 trial begins. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune)
Madigan, 82, and McClain, 77, are charged in a 23-count indictment alleging they used their political and government power to enrich Madigan and his associates.
Among the allegations: The men schemed to have a parcel of state-owned land in Chinatown transferred to the city for development; Madigan allegedly expected the developers of a hotel project to hire his law firm.
The indictment also accuses Madigan and McClain of conspiring to have utility giants Commonwealth Edison and AT&T Illinois put the speaker’s associates on contracts requiring little or no work in exchange for Madigan’s assistance on key legislation in Springfield.
ComEd allegedly also heaped legal work onto a Madigan ally, granted his request to put a political associate on the state-regulated utility’s board and distributed bundles of summer internships to college students living in his Southwest Side legislative district, according to the charges.
McClain was convicted last year in the Madigan-adjacent “ComEd Four” bribery trial. He has not been sentenced; he and his co-defendants are aiming to get their convictions thrown out.
