Madigan's lawyers want to block evidence from corruption trial

Lawyers for former House Speaker Michael Madigan have asked a federal judge to exclude a long list of potentially objectionable evidence from his upcoming organized crime trial, including details about controversial gambling legislation, Madigan's influence on hiring policies at Metra and payments to a political official accused of sexual harassment.

In a 41-page motion filed Monday, Madigan's legal team argued that the extensive publicity leading up to the trial – including the Tribune's ongoing series of articles on Illinois' “culture of corruption” – was already undermining Madigan's right to a fair trial and that adding “irrelevant” evidence on sensitive or irrelevant issues would only make the situation worse.

“This is irrelevant and highly prejudicial evidence of bias disguised as 'corporate evidence,'” the defense's motion states. “If admitted, this evidence will violate Madigan's right to a fair trial and will lead to speculation and confusion and will lead the jury to find guilt on improper grounds.”

Madigan, 82, is accused in a 23-count indictment of participating in a series of bribery and extortion schemes from 2011 to 2019 aimed at abusing the power of his public office for personal and political gain.

Also charged was Madigan's longtime confidant Michael McClain, 76, a former state legislator and lobbyist who was convicted last year of organizing an alleged Commonwealth Edison bribery scheme. McClain's sentence in that case is pending.

Madigan and McClain both pleaded not guilty; the trial is scheduled for October.

In two pretrial filings earlier this year, prosecutors said they plan to present evidence of a secret plan to funnel money to former aide Kevin Quinn, who was fired from Madigan's 13th District organization for sexually harassing a campaign aide. The Tribune first reported in June 2019 that federal authorities were investigating the payments to Quinn, which came from McClain and a number of ComEd lobbyists tied to Madigan.

Among the recordings prosecutors want to present is one in which McClain allegedly tells a former top aide of Madigan that he wanted to keep the circle of people who knew about the plan “really small” because “the more people know, the easier it is for people to blab.”

In their motion to exclude the evidence, Madigan's lawyers argued that both the evidence in the Quinn case and testimony generally about the Springfield sexual harassment scandal were irrelevant to the conduct charged and unfairly cast Madigan in a bad light.

“The risk of unfair prejudice is enormous,” the motion states. “…bringing allegations of sexual harassment into a MeToo trial is surely one of the most efficient ways to elicit an emotional response and irreparably bias the jury against the defendants.”

Prosecutors also want to play a recording in which Madigan talks to McClain about getting a job for the wife of a state lawmaker, identified only as “Public Official E,” who had gone to Madigan because he needed money. The state lawmaker, whom the Tribune said is Jaime Andrade, a Chicago Democrat, was later recorded thanking McClain for her efforts in getting his wife a job in the Illinois Secretary of State's office, according to the records.

The defense argued on Monday, however, that the evidence was only “partially conclusive” because the records did not indicate whether or not Madigan was aware of the qualifications of Andrade's wife, a competent lawyer, for the position.

It would be biased, the defense added, for the jury to speculate about the defendants' guilt based on McClain and Madigan's efforts to get jobs for people not directly named in the indictment.

Other evidence the government plans to present relates to efforts to pass comprehensive gambling legislation. Democratic Rep. Bob Rita of Blue Island is cooperating with the investigation and has already testified in two related trials that McClain put him in charge of overseeing gambling legislation at Madigan's behest – a situation that prosecutors say shows McClain was following the speaker's orders.

Madigan's lawyers, however, say the value of this evidence is outweighed by the public's generally negative attitude toward gambling, whether it is legal or not.

“Vices such as gambling are commonly associated with prostitution, drugs, violence, pornography, money laundering, etc.,” the defense stated in its motion. “…Consequently, the evidence will inevitably be linked to fueling the prejudices of potential jurors who, for religious, moral and/or personal reasons, believe that gambling is immoral or associated with degeneration.”

Madigan's defense team said the same rules should apply to evidence related to a secret 2014 report by the Legislature's inspector general about Madigan's attempts to give political allies government jobs at the Metra commuter rail company.

The report, discussed in emails from then-political director Will Cousineau to Madigan's inner circle, detailed how Madigan navigated the interface between public business and constituency protection from his Southwest Side office and suite at the Illinois Capitol, the Tribune reported.

Although Madigan's influence has been extensively reported in reports, the so-called Metra scandal is “not an issue in this case” and should be left out, the defense wrote.

“The government has never alleged that Madigan's alleged requests to Metra's government affairs division were part of any kind of quid pro quo or that there was any alleged corrupt intent,” the defense wrote.

Madigan's trial is expected to last up to three months and represents perhaps the most serious blow to the old Democratic Party machine that dominated Illinois and Chicago politics for generations.

The Tribune's “Culture of Corruption” series, which launched Sunday, examines Illinois' long history of self-dealing and the environment that fosters it. Madigan was named to the Dishonor Roll, which includes about 200 Illinois public officials who have been indicted, convicted or otherwise accused of wrongdoing over the past century or more.

“Madigan, of course, plays a role in this overwhelmingly negative reporting,” his lawyers wrote dryly in a footnote to Monday's documents.

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Originally published: 26 August 2024 at 17:46