The high-stakes nature of one of this year’s biggest public corruption trials became clear Wednesday when a defense attorney predicted an ominous argument from prosecutors: That federal guidelines call for life sentences for four people convicted of conspiring to bribe then-Illinois House Speaker Michael J. Madigan.
Prosecutors are not expected to begin disclosing their recommendations for the January sentencing hearings until next month. And even if the feds make the guideline argument predicted by defense attorney Patrick Cotter, it doesn’t mean they will actually recommend life sentences.
