Federal prosecutors appear on the cusp of resting their wide-ranging case against former Illinois House Speaker Michael J. Madigan — but jurors wound up leaving the courthouse early Tuesday without hearing any such announcement.
That’s despite a prediction made by prosecutors Tuesday morning to U.S. District Judge John Blakey that they would likely wrap up their case in the afternoon. Instead, the judge sent the jury home at 2:30 p.m.
After the panel left the courtroom, Assistant U.S. Attorney Amarjeet Bhachu told the judge “we’ve got a little homework to do on our side.” He didn’t elaborate.
Still, all parties seem to be preparing to shift Madigan’s trial into a new phase, in which defense attorneys get to call their own witnesses. Jurors have so far heard from about 50 witnesses summoned by prosecutors over the last nine weeks.
Madigan and his longtime ally, Michael McClain, are on trial for an alleged racketeering conspiracy. Prosecutors say Madigan led a criminal enterprise designed to enhance his political power and financial well-being, with McClain as his agent.
Two schemes alleged in the case involve former state Rep. Edward “Eddie” Acevedo, who took the stand briefly Monday but was threatened by Blakey with contempt after he failed to bring his eyeglasses to court.
When Acevedo returned to the witness stand Tuesday morning, Bhachu kicked things off by asking if Acevedo had brought his glasses.
"Right here," Acevedo said, holding them up.
"Congratulations," Bhachu retorted.
Acevedo’s attorney has warned that his client has dementia, and the former lawmaker gave several "I don't know" and "I'm not sure" answers Tuesday. When defense attorneys had their chance to question him, they painted a dire picture of Acevedo’s health.
Acevedo testified that he began experiencing memory loss in 2016, when he was still in the Illinois General Assembly, and also suffered from anxiety, hearing loss and confusion.
He also testified that he has been diagnosed with a brain tumor and dementia. He acknowledged to Madigan attorney Dan Collins that he couldn't always remember the names of his grandchildren.
That came up again while Acevedo was being questioned by McClain attorney Patrick Cotter.
“Are you confident in your memory?” Cotter asked him. “That you remember correctly?”
Acevedo began to choke up and said, "No sir, that’s one reason it hurts me so much when he asked about my grandkids' names. It hurts so much that I can't remember their names."
Acevedo fought back against claims that he did no work for $22,500 he was paid by AT&T Illinois in 2017. Prosecutors say Acevedo was paid in an alleged bid to bribe Madigan. They say Acevedo, a veteran Latino politician, was valuable to Madigan because of a growing Latino population in Madigan’s 22nd District.
“Did you ever ask McClain for a no-show job?” Cotter asked Acevedo.
“I never asked anyone for a no-show job,” Acevedo said.
But Bhachu later reminded jurors that Acevedo also pleaded guilty to tax evasion in 2021.
"That's for basically hiding your income?" Bhachu asked.
Acevedo insisted he "was not trying to hide anything."
Acevedo also testified that he'd given information to AT&T lobbyist Michael Lieteau. However, prosecutors summoned Lieteau after Acevedo left the stand, and Lieteau testified that he was unaware of Acevedo doing any work for AT&T in 2017.
The feds also took issue with another part of Acevedo’s testimony. He claimed on the witness stand Tuesday that he told the presiding judge about his dementia diagnosis when he pleaded guilty in December 2021.
FBI Special Agent Kyle Scherrer took the stand and testified that a transcript from that hearing shows Acevedo did not mention that diagnosis.
But under cross-examination by Collins, Acevedo did testify that he saw a neurologist about his dementia, although it was in January 2022, a month after his guilty plea. Acevedo was then sentenced in March 2022.
