(The Center Square) – Prosecutors have resumed their closing arguments at the corruption trial of former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan at the Everett McKinley Dirksen U.S. Courthouse in Chicago.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Diane MacArthur continued her presentation Friday morning by discussing Counts 8 through 14 of the 23-count indictment. MacArthur said the charges against Madigan did not involve codefendant Michael McClain and were all related to state board appointments.
Madigan has pleaded not guilty to all 23 counts.
MacArthur said Madigan and then-Chicago Alderman Daniel Solis discussed business for Madigan’s private law firm and a potential state board appointment for Solis.
“This was a transactional relationship,” MacArthur said. The veteran prosecutor displayed a graphic showing what she called, “The Give and the Get/The This for the That.”
MacArthur said Madigan agreed to pursue the state board appointment not for the good of the state but for Madigan’s personal gain.
“This was a fraud,” MacArthur insisted.
The prosecutor then replayed a recording of a conversation on June 20, 2018, between Madigan and Solis, who was cooperating with the government at the time. During the call, Solis asked about the possibility of a state board appointment and Madigan asked about an introduction to real estate developer Gordon Skydell.
In a call on July 27, 2018, Solis advised Madigan that he could set up a meeting between Madigan and developer Gordon Skydell the next month.
In a videotaped meeting on Aug. 2, 2018, Solis mentioned Skydell and other developers. Regarding a state board position for Solis, Madigan says, “Just leave it in my hands.”
During the same call, Madigan asked Solis to follow up with a Chicago nonprofit, The Resurrection Project, about insurance business for Madigan’s son, Andrew.
“Just give Andrew something,” the speaker said.
MacArthur said Madigan met with Governor-elect J.B. Pritzker on Dec. 4, 2018, and raised the idea of reconstituting state boards and commissions. The prosecutor asserted that the reason Solis was not appointed to a state board was the revelation by members of the press that Solis was cooperating with federal investigators.
“This was a deprivation of services to the people of the state of Illinois,” MacArthur said of the speaker’s conduct.
MacArthur and fellow prosecutor Julia Schwartz had delivered a total of more than 10 hours of closing arguments as proceedings continued Friday morning. Madigan defense attorney Dan Collins may begin his closing statements Friday afternoon, but, if prosecutors continue into the afternoon, Judge John Robert Blakey said Madigan’s team could wait until Monday morning to begin.
McClain’s attorneys would then follow with their closing arguments.
Jury deliberations are expected to begin next Tuesday or Wednesday.
