Lawyers for former House Speaker Michael Madigan have asked a federal judge to exclude a laundry list of potentially prejudicial evidence from his upcoming racketeering trial, including details about controversial gaming legislation, Madigan’s influence over hiring at Metra, and payments made to a political operative who was accused of sexual harassment.
In a 41-page motion filed Monday, Madigan’s legal team said extensive pretrial publicity — including the Tribune’s ongoing series on Illinois’ “Culture of Corruption” — is already undermining Madigan’s right to a fair trial, and that adding “irrelevant” evidence about sensitive or peripheral topics would only make it worse.
“It is irrelevant and highly prejudicial propensity evidence masquerading as ‘enterprise evidence,'” the defense motion stated. “If admitted, admission of this evidence will violate Madigan’s right to a fair trial, and result in speculation, confusion, and cajole the jury into finding guilt for improper reasons.”
Madigan, 82, is charged in a 23-count indictment alleging he participated in an array of bribery and extortion schemes from 2011 to 2019 aimed at using the power of his public office for personal and political gain.
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