14-02-2025
Madigan jurors give insight into deliberations that led to ‘historic' conviction
CHICAGO (WGN) – Former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan, a leader in Illinois politics for more than 50 years, walked out of federal court on Wednesday a convicted felon after being found guilty on corruption charges.
After 11 days of deliberations, the jury in the trial of Madigan, 82, and longtime political confidant Michael McClain, 77, reached a split verdict.
Madigan was convicted on 10 of 23 counts, including bribery, bribery conspiracy, and wire fraud. He was found not guilty on seven counts, and a jury was deadlocked on the remaining six counts, faced by both Madigan and McClain, which were declared a mistrial by agreement.
Prosecutors have not said whether they intend to retry Madigan or McClain on the six deadlocked counts.
Former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan found guilty on 10 counts; jury deadlocked on others
Acting U.S. Attorney Morris Pasqual called it a 'historic conviction,' ranking high among the public corruption cases tried in federal court in Chicago.
The jury of eight women and four men heard over 150 secret recordings, testimony from close to 60 witnesses, and arguments laid out by the government and defense teams for both men. In their deliberations, they were led by the 46-year-old foreman, a South Side native and longtime resident of the Beverly neighborhood, Tim Nessner.
Nessner, an insurance underwriter, father, and husband, who describes himself as a 'proud Chicagoan,' said the jury was extremely diligent in its deliberations as it combed through a 'mountain of evidence.' They went on a count-by-count basis and allowed the over 100 pages of instructions to guide them in their decision-making process.
'It got to a point where we had debated it over and over again. We broke for the day on Tuesday, and we came back with fresh eyes on Wednesday. I reminded everyone of the presumption of innocence and the guilt beyond reasonable doubt,' Nessner said. 'We went around the room again. It was clear to everyone that the two dissenting votes would not be swayed, and for that reason we knew we were at an impasse, and it had to end at that point.'
Nessner said there were two holdouts on the final count in the indictment, a conspiracy charge involving an alleged no-work contract arranged through AT&T Illinois for a Madigan ally in exchange for support on key legislation, and one holdout on five other charges, including the overarching racketeering conspiracy charge.
Prosecutors had argued Madigan ran his political operation like a criminal enterprise. Jurors were unable to come to an agreement on that count, with 11 voting in favor of acquittal.
'That first count is actually the one we saved for last because we knew it would be all-encompassing, and we knew that we would be discovering evidence all along as we deliberated each count,' Nessner said.
Jurors who spoke with WGN said it was not lost on them the responsibility that came with serving, including the fact that they held someone's future in their hands.
'We didn't allow it to come into play when determining a verdict, but it was something that was at the very forefront of our minds,' Nessner said. 'We understood the gravity of what we were doing.'
Juror No. 36, who wished only to be identified as Natalie, echoed a similar sentiment.
'When I found out that I was actually picked, I was very nervous, I didn't know what to expect. All I thought was, 'I can't believe I have to help make a decision that could alter someone's life,'' Natalie said.
As the group got into the routine of reporting to court, listening to evidence and testimony, and taking vigorous notes, Natalie said those thoughts began to dissipate.
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The 23-year-old first-born American citizen, first-generation student, and college graduate said she was surprised she was selected to serve given where she lives. For close to four days each week, Natalie took the train about an hour and a half each way from her home near the Illinois-Wisconsin border.
Natalie said, some days, the amount of evidence was enough to make her head feel like it was going to explode. She jokes that she had the most notebooks of all jurors and ended with about 10 filled from front to back when all said and done.
'I didn't know what information I would need to help during deliberations, so I just wrote everything down,' Natalie said.
When it came down to deliberations, she said 'time was absent' in the room where jurors spent close to 60 hours combing through evidence and talking out the case. They were focused on making sure they understood the laws and applying those to the facts to help them reach their verdict.
'It was very emotional. I remember when we first came to agreement for our first guilty verdict there was silence in the room, and it just felt so unreal – so real,' Natalie said. 'It really just gave us a reality check. We're like, 'woah, this isn't just going over what we have heard for the last few months, but this is real life now.' It was a really sobering moment.'
Natalie said it all came into an even clearer perspective when they returned to the courtroom on Wednesday afternoon as Madigan, McClain, and their families awaited their fate.
'I know that we did what we did for a reason. We followed the judge's instructions and the law to the best of our abilities. Although it came to an ugly outcome, it's just the way that it turned out. There wasn't anything we could do to change the situation. I know a lot of jurors felt similar,' Natalie said.
Judge Blakey praised the jury for being one of the best he has experienced in his years on the bench.
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Jurors echoed their gratitude for the judge, the prosecutors and defense teams in being thorough in what they provided, and for each other – many whom they now consider lifelong friends.
Madigan, who was known for operating off-the-books, steering clear of the press, and rarely having a cellphone, sent shockwaves with his choice to testify in his own defense. His co-defendant declined to take the stand.
Juror No. 50, a 32-year-old woman who wished only to be identified as Danielle, said she appreciated hearing from Madigan on the stand.
'It seems like he was a down-to-earth character who cared greatly about the people he was around, and several of the witnesses said how much he had done for them,' Danielle said. 'So, you see both sides to each story.'
Nessner also had some thoughts about the ex-Speaker's testimony.
'To the degree that Mr. Madigan tried to separate himself from his co-defendant led a couple of the jurors to believe that he may have been lying about some other things that he testified about on the stand. For me, I think it was a little bit of both,' Nessner said. 'I don't think there was an absolute lynchpin in his testimony that said it was absolutely damming, there was nothing in there that said he was absolutely innocent, so him actually taking the stand did not have a massive effect on any persuasion of mine.'
Madigan could face prison time on the counts he was convicted on, though his age will likely be a factor in sentencing decisions, experts said.
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'It's the most significant public corruption case in my lifetime, just because of its breadth. I mean this guy ran the state for 40 years and had been down in Springfield for 50,' said Pat Brady. 'He was the last of the power bosses in the country and he ran this state with an iron fist, and it turns out he ran corruptly like a lot of us had been saying for a long time.'
Brady, the former chairman of the Illinois Republican Party and a former federal prosecutor, said given the broad scope of the indictment, he is not surprised there were some split verdicts. He calls what Madigan was convicted on 'significant' and praised the jury for their diligent work.
'He'll report to the parole office and have his presentencing investigation done. There will be motions. I imagine it will be a pretty vigorous sentencing hearing, then he'll be sentenced, and then the big question for me is, if he's sentenced does he get a bond pending appeal,' said Brady.
According to court records, the government must file its motion for forfeiture by March 14. A hearing on post-trial motions, including the forfeiture bench trial, is set for May 5.
In a filing last month, prosecutors indicated they would seek approximately $3.24 million in forfeiture if Madigan were convicted. It is not clear whether that number could change given the counts Madigan was found guilty on.
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