Jurors considering the fate of former Illinois House Speaker Michael J. Madigan left Chicago’s federal courthouse Friday without reaching a verdict, wrapping up a full week of deliberations.
They are expected to resume their work Monday at 9 a.m.
In all, jurors have spent 50 hours considering the case over eight days and offered few clues as to where deliberations stood — until Friday. They sent a note to U.S. District Judge John Blakey on Friday morning suggesting they are deep into talks.
The jurors asked about two sets of charges. One of them, wire fraud, applies to allegations involving a bid for a paid seat on a government board by former Chicago Ald. Danny Solis, as well as claims tied to a parking lot in Chinatown.
The Chinatown scheme is charged late in Madigan’s indictment. Jurors pointed, in part, to page 96 of the 105-page set of jury instructions. In both alleged schemes, Madigan is accused of using Solis to steer developers to his private tax law firm.
Specifically, jurors asked about language in the instructions that say “bona fide salary, wages, fees or other compensation paid in the usual course of business do not qualify as a thing of value.”
U.S. District Judge Edmong Chang, who was serving as the day’s emergency judge, wound up handling the jurors’ question Friday. He explained to the courtroom that Blakey was “unavoidably, absolutely unavoidably absent.”
However, Chang said he conferred with Blakey by text message. Chang said he would tell jurors that salaries can be considered a “valuable thing” or “something of value” under the instructions if paid “by means of bribery.” Defense attorneys had urged him to refer the jurors back to their original instructions, instead.
Jurors wound up leaving the courthouse for the day about two hours later, at 3 p.m.
Madigan and his longtime ally, Michael McClain, are on trial for a racketeering conspiracy. Madigan is accused of leading a criminal enterprise over nearly a decade designed to enhance his political power and reward his allies. McClain allegedly acted as his agent.
Five schemes are alleged in the 117-page indictment against the pair. In two, Madigan and McClain are accused of conspiring to have ComEd and AT&T Illinois pay thousands of dollars to Madigan allies so that Madigan would look favorably at the utilities’ legislation.
The other three involve Solis, who wore a wire for the FBI after agents confronted him with allegations of his own wrongdoing. Those allegations involve his request for Madigan’s help landing a paid seat on a government board, the Chinatown parking lot and a West Loop apartment project.
The trial began in early October, and jurors heard from more than 60 witnesses over 11 weeks. They began deliberating Jan. 29.
Contributing: Tina Sfondeles, Matthew Hendrickson, Violet Miller, Mary Norkol and Dave McKinney.