Madigan Corruption Convictions Upheld by Seventh Circuit (1)

A Seventh Circuit panel upheld Michael Madigan’s array of public corruption convictions, rejecting the ex-Illinois House Speaker’s arguments that jurors were improperly instructed on how to consider his intent and the meaning of “corruptly.”

Madigan “insists” his actions were “run-of-the-mill politics,” Judge Michael Scudder Jr. wrote in Monday’s opinion. “But a jury of twelve Illinois residents saw the evidence differently. So do we.”

The opinion, joined by judges Frank Easterbrook and Nancy Maldonado, also found prosecutors presented “overwhelming” evidence of wrongdoing to support the guilty verdict, including the lucrative “subcontractor” payments from the utility Commonwealth Edison Co. to various ...