Former Illinois House Speaker doesn't want the word 'corruption' used in upcoming corruption trial
https://highlandcountypress.com/news/former-illinois-house-speaker-doesnt-want-word-corruption-used-upcoming-corruption-trialFormer Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan doesn't want the word "corruption" mentioned at his upcoming corruption trial.
Madigan laid out a litany of things he wants excluded from his upcoming racketeering trial in October. The words Madigan's defense team doesn't want the jury to hear are "patronage," "political machine," "Shakman Litigation," "corrupt politicians," "corruption," and "Public Corruption Task Force," and their derivatives, according to a motion pending before Judge Manish Shah.
Those words are too prejudicial, the defense argued.
"Eliciting these prejudicial and pejorative references are immaterial and not probative to the charged offenses; they are irrelevant," attorneys Daniel Collins and Thomas Breen wrote in the pre-trial motion. "Additionally, these terms are highly prejudicial and will only stigmatize Madigan while offering nothing towards proving the government’s case. These terms imply illegality with stigmatizing rhetoric tarnishing the reputation of Madigan in the presence of the jury needlessly and unfairly."
Madigan served in the Illinois House from 1971 to 2021, as speaker from 1983 to 1995 and again from 1997 to 2021. That made him one of the state's most powerful politicians, especially given his role as head of the Democratic party in the state. He faces 23 counts of racketeering, bribery, and official misconduct as part of a federal indictment. Madigan has pleaded not guilty.
The Shakman decrees were a series of federal orders regarding government employment in Chicago. The judicial decrees in 1972, 1979, and 1983 were in response to a lawsuit filed by Michael Shakman. The decrees banned political patronage, where politicians give government jobs to supporters of a politician or party.
