Jurors have announced they have reached a decision on 17 counts in the Michael Madigan case but are deadlocked on 12 others and don’t believe they can be unanimous.
The announcement came Wednesday morning on the panel’s 11th day of deliberations, which began the afternoon of Jan. 29.
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Michael Madigan convicted of bribery conspiracy at landmark trial; jury cannot agree on racketeering
A note sent to U.S. District Judge John Robert Blakey announced the impasse. After some discussion, attorneys and Blakey agreed to send a note back to jurors telling them they do not have to reach a unanimous verdict on all counts and if they want to render a partial verdict they should leave those counts blank on the verdict form.
“This jury’s been incredibly conscientious, they’ve been very forthcoming and candid in terms of being frank with the court, and they have said here ‘we have tried our very best’ … so I think I have a more than adequate basis to mistry the counts for which there is not unanimous agreement,” Blakey said.
Madigan faces 23 counts in the indictment, while his co-defendant Michael McClain faces 6. It was not clear from jurors’ note which counts the jurors have agreed upon.
A deadlock raises the possibility of a retrial — a daunting prospect, given that Madigan’s trial has lasted more than four months and the landscape for federal corruption prosecutions is rapidly changing.
Deadlocks and mistrials are not unheard of in Chicago corruption cases. In September, jurors failed to reach a verdict in the trial of Paul La Schiazza, the former AT&T boss who was accused of bribing Madigan. And most prominently, the first trial of ex-Gov. Rod Blagojevich ended when jurors could only reach agreement on one of the 24 counts he faced. Blagojevich was convicted upon retrial — then, just this week, he was granted a full pardon by President Donald Trump.
Madigan, 82, a Southwest Side Democrat, and his longtime confidant, Michael McClain, 77, of downstate Quincy, are charged in a 23-count indictment with racketeering conspiracy and other crimes related to Madigan’s record run as House speaker.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
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