CHICAGO — The racketeering case against former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan and his longtime confidant will likely not see any significant court action until next year after a judge Tuesday granted the defense a lengthy extension to review the massive pile of evidence turned over by prosecutors.
In the first status hearing in the bombshell case in four months, U.S. District Judge Robert Blakey set a Feb. 1 deadline for the filing of pretrial motions, saying he was granting the delay “up front” so defense attorneys wouldn’t have to come back and ask for more time.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Amarjeet Bhachu had asked for pretrial motions to be due sometime this year. The prosecutor said discovery was “substantially complete” in the case, and noted that Madigan “is being represented by a large and prestigious law firm” and has six criminal defense attorneys that have entered appearances for him.
