Prosecutors want joint trial for Madigan, McClain on corruption charges

Prosecutors want a joint trial for former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan and co-defendant Michael McClain to avoid the two men blaming each other for a nearly decade-long racketeering and bribery scheme. 

McClain, a former state lawmaker and former ComEd lobbyist known for his close association with Madigan, filed a request in July to sever his trial from Madigan’s because Madigan’s defense team plans to blame McClain.

Prosecutors said it doesn’t make sense to hold two separate trials for two people accused of working together in the same long-running scheme. 

“Severance is particularly inappropriate in this case,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Amarjeet Bhachu and his team wrote in response to McClain’s motion. “To begin with, the lead charge is racketeering conspiracy. The defendants are alleged to have conspired to participate in an association-in-fact enterprise through a pattern of bribery and extortion.

“The nature of this charge – specifically, the fact that it alleges that both defendants participated together in a racketeering enterprise – makes this case a poor candidate for severance. Moreover, the defendants are alleged to be co-conspirators in that joint enterprise, and severance is ‘rarely’ appropriate in a case like this.”

Prosecutors also said it would be more efficient to hold a single trial. They said the trial is expected to last nine weeks with more than 50 witnesses for the prosecution. 

“Severing this trial will require two lengthy trials to establish the very same facts twice over,” prosecutors wrote. “As the Seventh Circuit noted, joint trials reduce the resources spent by the Court, the government, as well as the many witnesses who will be forced to testify twice if there are two trials on the same charges.”

Prosecutors also want to avoid a blame game.

“In addition, a joint trial will prevent a predictable strategy from unfolding in this case: Blaming the absent defendant for the crimes alleged in the indictment,” they wrote. 

Madigan served in the Illinois House from 1971 to 2021, as speaker from 1983 to 1995 and again from 1997 to 2021. That made him one of the state’s most powerful politicians, especially given his role as head of the Democratic party in the state. He faces 23 counts of racketeering, bribery, and official misconduct as part of a federal indictment. Madigan has pleaded not guilty.

In March 2022, Madigan and McClain were charged with 22 counts of racketeering and bribery for his alleged improper dealings with the state’s largest utility, ComEd. Prosecutors further alleged that he used his political power to unlawfully steer business to his private law firm, Madigan & Getzendanner.

In October 2022, prosecutors filed a superseding indictment that charged Madigan and McClain with conspiracy related to an alleged corruption scheme involving AT&T Illinois.

A jury convicted McClain and three other former ComEd executives and lobbyists on multiple counts of corruption in a 2023 trial. McClain has yet to be sentenced in that case.

Madigan and McClain are set to go to trial in October.