THE ILLINOIZE: Thursday Free for All...Madigan thinks the media has been mean...Concealed carry on public transit...Durbin states the obvious
September 5, 2024
Good morning, Illinois.
I was sent the obituary yesterday for former Rep. Brent Hassert, who passed away last week. I didn’t know him well, but he was a longtime reader of this newsletter. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family.
I’m visiting with former congressman Adam Kinzinger on the radio this morning. You should listen here around 8:15.
There’s nothing on Governor Pritzker’s public schedule today.
Let’s get to it.
YOUR THURSDAY FREE FOR ALL
(note: we’re not responsible for paywalls and restrictions from other news outlets, because good journalism isn’t free)
Madigan’s attorneys cry foul over ‘unfair’ media coverage, ask judge for more leeway to question jury pool (Chicago Tribune)
Attorneys for ex-Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan have compiled years’ worth of unflattering press about the political powerhouse in hopes that a judge will let them examine potential jurors more closely at Madigan’s racketeering trial.
“For at least the past two decades, the press coverage of Madigan has bordered on obsession,” defense attorneys for Madigan and co-defendant Michael McClain wrote in a filing late Monday, calling the coverage “intense and grossly unfair.”
The filing repeatedly complained about stories by the Tribune, including the ongoing “Culture of Corruption” series examining how self-dealing has been embedded in Illinois politics for generations. The filing insinuates strongly that the series must have been timed to undermine Madigan’s case.
Defense attorneys used Monday’s motion to reiterate requests they have already made to U.S. District Judge John Robert Blakey: They want permission to review prospective jurors’ social media posts, and they want to question potential jurors about what they may have seen or heard about Madigan in greater detail than standard procedure usually allows.
The trial is slated to begin Oct. 8. 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.
Also charged was McClain, 76, a former state legislator and lobbyist who was convicted last year of orchestrating an alleged bribery scheme by Commonwealth Edison. McClain’s sentencing in that case is pending; his attorneys want the case thrown out entirely given a U.S. Supreme Court ruling this year that upended part of a commonly used anti-corruption statute.
But the bulk of the publicity that defense attorneys complained about centered on Madigan, who spent decades at the top of the Springfield hierarchy and statewide Democratic politics.
The coverage — along with attack ads from Republican opponents — cemented Madigan’s image as an iron-fisted boss who derived power from a political machine, an image that could be hard for potential jurors to shake, the filing wrote.
The pretrial filings in Madigan’s case have also been written about at length; Tribune journalists, who have no obligation to hide the details of publicly available records, recently described a wiretapped recording that Madigan’s attorneys are trying to prevent jurors from hearing. That seemed to particularly draw the defense attorneys’ ire.
“The pretrial publicity has presented unsupported, negative spin on the exact information at issue in this case and spread speculation and misinformation that will likely not be admissible at trial,” the filing states.
Illinois law banning concealed carry on public transit is unconstitutional, judge rules (Associated Press)
A federal judge has ruled that an Illinois law banning the concealed carry of firearms on public transit is unconstitutional.
U.S. District Judge Iain D. Johnston in Rockford ruled last Friday with four gun owners who filed a lawsuit in 2022 contending that their inability to carry weapons on buses and trains violated their Second Amendment right to self-defense.
Johnston relied on a pivotal U.S. Supreme Court case from 2022 that established that gun laws must be consistent with conditions found in the late 1700s when the Bill of Rights was composed. No regulation on where weapons could be carried existed.
Illinois became the nation’s last state to approve concealed carry in 2013. The law established a number of places that were off limits to guns, such as public arenas, hospitals, buses and trains.
Attorney General Kwame Raoul said through a spokesperson that he was reviewing the decision and would likely appeal.
He noted that until there’s a final judgment in the matter, gun owners should continue to abide by concealed-carry provisions; Johnston’s ruling currently applies only to the four plaintiffs who brought the lawsuit.
Related: State law banning concealed carry on public transit ruled unconstitutional (Capitol News Illinois)
How prosecutors say suspect methodically killed 4 Blue Line riders — and was arrested within hours (Chicago Sun-Times)
Editorial: Judge's ruling against state gun ban on public transit makes us less safe (Chicago Sun-Times)
Editorial: Yes, the Forest Park killings were singularly horrific. But more typical crime continues to proliferate on the CTA. (Chicago Tribune)
Editorial: Blue Line shootings show CTA has fallen behind on passenger safety (Chicago Sun-Times)
Durbin predicts 'close' election, says Senate control makes 'serious difference' (Bloomington Pantagraph)
As chairman of the powerful Senate Judiciary Committee, Sen. Dick Durbin quite literally has a front-row seat to the high stakes of the 2024 presidential and U.S. Senate elections.
Democratic control of the upper chamber has enabled the confirmation of more than 200 federal judges nominated by President Joe Biden to lifetime appointments since the beginning of his administration in 2021.
More than 230 federal judges were confirmed during former President Donald Trump's single term in office, when Republicans had control of the Senate.
If Trump wins back the White House or if the GOP takes control of the Senate, or if both occur, there will be a wide-ranging and long-term impact on the makeup of the federal bench, Durbin told reporters on Wednesday after an unrelated event in Springfield.
"It makes a serious difference as to whether or not the Senate is under Democratic control," Durbin said. "The appointment of future judges and their attitude toward the Constitution and our country really can make a difference."
Durbin called larger reforms proposed by Biden — such as a constitutional amendment to make clear that no American president is immune from prosecution for crimes committed while in office, and 18-year term limits for Supreme Court justices — as "largely constitutional questions that are not going to be resolved by the end of the year."
"Let's focus on ethics and get it right," Durbin said, referencing legislation he is sponsoring that would require Supreme Court justices to adopt a binding code of conduct, among other provisions.
Durbin said control of the U.S. Senate, currently 51-49 in favor of Democrats, "hangs on one or two seats around the country," with the majority party defending competitive seats in Republican-leaning states like Montana and Ohio and in several swing states.
He also acknowledged that the presidential contest between Trump and current Vice President Kamala Harris will be "a very close race."
Related: 'These are largely constitutional questions': Durbin says Biden's court reform will take time (State Journal-Register)
TOP STORY SO FAR THIS WEEK ON THEILLINOIZE.COM
POLITICAL POTPOURRI
Federal judge rejects Illinois’ bid to end court oversight of disability programs (Capitol News Illinois)
GOP-tilted websites showed where Illinois judges live despite a law that protects their privacy (WBEZ)
New law bans Illinois hotels from providing complimentary personal-care items (Chicago Sun-Times)
Secretary of state enlists high schoolers to encourage organ donation (Capitol News Illinois)
Obama Foundation fundraising dipped in 2023, after record haul in 2022 (Chicago Sun-Times)
University of Illinois agrees to review policies, introduce training after federal review of 135 reports of antisemitism (Champaign News-Gazette)
How many officers does a suburban police department need? Answers vary (Daily Herald)
Opinion: Downstate Wants a Divorce (Chicago Magazine) [his disdain for downstaters is typical and obnoxious]
Opinion: Bears' stadium dreams rest on Caleb Williams' shoulders (Crain’s Chicago Business)
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