Jurors relieved after 11 days of deliberation in trial of former Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A jury of eight men and four women deliberated for 11 days in the trial of former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan before reaching a verdict this week.
Madigan was convicted Wednesday of bribery conspiracy, bribery, and wire fraud charges on Wednesday, but acquitted of seven others, following a four-month trial accusing him of running a yearslong criminal enterprise to enrich himself and his political allies. Jurors were deadlocked on six other counts against Madigan.
The jury also was unable to reach a unanimous verdict on all six charges against his co-defendant, Michael McClain.
Madigan, 82, and McClain, faced a 23-count indictment in federal court in Chicago on charges of racketeering conspiracy, bribery, wire fraud, and attempted extortion. They were caused of conspiring with utility companies ComEd and AT&T to provide no-show jobs to Madigan's allies in exchange for the speaker's help on legislation. Prosecutors also accused Madigan of pressuring real estate developers to hire his private law firm, which specializes in property tax appeals.
Prosecutors and defense attorneys agreed to accept the partial verdict in the case following more than 60 hours of deliberations over those 11 days.
As Madigan left the Dirksen Federal Courthouse a convicted felon Wednesday, the jury who found reached the verdict in his case left with a weight lifted off their shoulders.
"The weight of a conviction will weigh on me for quite some time," said Tim Nessner, who was the jury foreman during the 11 weeks of testimony. "The people in this trial have invaded my dreams."
Nessner explained reaching the guilty verdict against the once-most powerful Illinois politician was not easy.
"I still view him as a good person, and I still view him as a good politician," Nessner said. "I wish that he had proceeded differently in the circumstances that we found him to be in."
Madigan was caught on several secret recordings made by once-alderman Danny Solis — who turned into a government informant. Another juror, identified only as "Juror 2," explained how damaging one recording became.
"When he says, 'Which board position would you like?' you know, kind of like, 'Have your pick,' and so I think those recordings and videos were kind of pivotal," Juror 2 said.
When Madigan took the stand in his own trial, the two jurors said they felt he did not lie. But Juror 2 said there was a point when she felt Madigan was being less than completely honest.
"For me personally, there was an incident where he was caught not telling the whole truth," said Juror 2, "and I think up until then, I really thought he was truthful."
Nessner said he thought there were some occasions where Madigan was withholding the truth.
"Certainly, when it came to his codefendant, it seemed like was downplaying that relationship," he said
Juror 2 had some words to leave to Madigan.
"At what point did you think it was OK to engage with certain individuals who may not have had the people's best interest in mind?" she said.
The jurors also advised anyone who gets a jury summons in the mail can handle it for two days — if they can handle 11 weeks of testimony and 11 days of deliberations. During the deliberations, one juror celebrated her 44th birthday.
As for Madigan, he is due back in court in the first week of May.
While the wire fraud convictions Madigan faces each carry a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, legal analysts said Madigan likely will get 4 to 6 years in prison, based on his age and convictions in previous corruption cases in Chicago. Much of that might hinge on whether Madigan shows remorse for his actions at his sentencing hearing.
