After five days of deliberation the jury has found all four “ComEd Four” defendants guilty on all charges. Michelle Gallardo reports at ABC 7 Chicago:
CHICAGO (WLS) — A jury found all defendants in the “ComEd Four” trial guilty on all counts on Tuesday afternoon.
Tuesday marked day five of deliberations in the trial. Jurors found Mike McClain, Anne Pramaggiore, John Hooker and Jay Doherty guilty on nine different counts of conspiracy, bribery and falsification of records.
About two hours prior to the verdict’s announcement, jurors came to the judge with a question. At the time, their question indicated that there was some uncertainty about whether prosecutors had proved their case, at least regarding the falsification of records counts, beyond a reasonable doubt.
This is not the end. It’s the beginning of what will be a years-long process. Former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan has been charged with racketeering conspiracy and individual counts of using interstate facilities in aid of bribery, wire fraud, and attempted extortion. He’s 81 at this point. He may run out the clock. But even that won’t be the end.
If plaintiff’s attorneys can connect the dots between bribes and the electricity rates that Chicagoans are paying I expect an enormous class action suit for hundreds of millions of dollars.
Have I mentioned that Speaker Madigan was a long-time chairman of the Illinois Democratic Party?
A juror commented that the Defendants are good people who made bad decisions, but “He [Madigan] really did cause this all to happen.”
Since you are down Illinois here is some positive news for you.
https://archive.md/EqyLw
Steve