The jury began their first full day of deliberations on Thursday - 14-and-a-half weeks after being seated in former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan's federal bribery and racketeering trial.

The investigation that led to Michael Madigan’s indictment changed the course of Chicago history. It also prompted a historic trial at the Dirksen Federal Courthouse that began in October and gave jurors a front-row seat to raw Illinois politics as it was practiced in the previous decade.

As ComEd’s lead external lobbyist for years, McClain took Madigan’s job recommendations and referred them to leaders at the utility for consideration. McClain’s attorney Pat Cotter characterized the efforts as merely “favors” in closing arguments this week, which are allowed in the practice of lobbying.

Co-defendant Mike McClain's defense attorney said this trial is about lobbying and politics during closing arguments Tuesday. McClain is charged in only six of the 23 counts. Patrick Cotter highlighted that there is no key evidence that supports the government's theory that there was bribery and conspiracy.

Former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan collected a pension worth $158,000 in 2024 while facing a federal corruption trial in Chicago. Depending on the verdict, taxpayers could be on the hook for another $1 million to cover his remaining benefits.

Defense attorney Patrick Cotter made the comment in the midst of his nearly five-hour closing argument Tuesday in the corruption trial of Michael Madigan and Michael McClain. Jurors are expected to begin deliberating Wednesday.

After more than three months, the fate of former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan is now in the hands of a jury.

Nearly four months after they were first called to Chicago’s federal courthouse, jurors have begun deliberating in the most consequential Illinois public corruption case in years: the racketeering case of former House Speaker Michael Madigan and his longtime confidante,

As ComEd’s lead external lobbyist for years, McClain took Madigan’s job recommendations and referred them to leaders at the utility for consideration. McClain’s attorney Pat Cotter characterized the efforts as merely “favors” in closing arguments this week, which are allowed in the practice of lobbying.

Imprisoned former Ald. Edward Burke has become the latest Chicago Democrat to seek clemency from someone who, at first blush, would seem like an unlikely suitor: Republican President Donald Trump.

An analysis of data from the U.S. Department of Justice found on average more than one Illinois public servant was convicted every week between 1983 and 2023. As longtime former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan,