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Prosecutors may rest their case soon in former House Speaker Michael Madigan's trial

Former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan – a mainstay of Illinois political power for over four decades – is pictured leaving the Dirksen Federal Courthouse earlier this year after a hearing regarding the corruption charges he faces. Opening statements in his trial are slated for next week.
Andrew Adams/Capitol News Illinois
Former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan – a mainstay of Illinois political power for over four decades – is pictured leaving the Dirksen Federal Courthouse earlier this year after a hearing regarding the corruption charges he faces. Opening statements in his trial are slated for next week.

Federal prosecutors appear to be nearing the end of their racketeering conspiracy case against former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan and co-defendant Michael McClain.

The government is resting its case against former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan and co-defendant Michael McClain.

Since October, the government’s case included roughly 50 witnesses, including former state Representative Edward Acevedo. He’s a Madigan ally whose testimony stretched over two days. After retiring as a lawmaker, Acevedo got more than $140,000 in alleged no-work AT&T and ComEd consulting gigs.

Prosecutors say Madigan and McClain set up the arrangement while the companies had legislation pending.
Acevedo gave conflicting testimony about the true extent of work he performed, insisting he relayed information to an AT&T contract lobbyist. But prosecutors later put that lobbyist on the stand - and he said Acevedo never passed along anything to him about company legislation.

Dave McKinney, state politics reporter at WBEZ, spent 19 years as the Chicago Sun-Times Springfield bureau chief with additional stops at Reuters and the Daily Herald. His work also has been published in Crain’s Chicago Business, the New York Times and Chicago Magazine.