Chicago As a co-defendant with former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan in the February federal criminal public corruption trial, Michael McClain’s Chicago law firm recently succeeded in having all outstanding accusations against him dismissed.
McClain, a longtime lobbyist and former Illinois lawmaker, was charged with conspiracy, bribery, wire fraud, and racketeering. The case for McClain was concluded on August 4 when Judge John Robert Blakey of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois approved the prosecution’s motion to dismiss all outstanding counts against McClain.
Following an 11-day deliberation period and a four-month trial, the jury failed to return a verdict on any of the six accusations against McClain on February 12. At the time, Judge Blakey ruled that those accusations were mistrial.
Over the course of the trial, the jury heard testimony from over 60 witnesses, covering approximately ten years of evidence on several alleged bribery schemes. The main thrust of the defense’s arguments was drawing a clear distinction between bribery and lobbying. Eleven of the twelve jurors chose to acquit McClain on all charges, while one dissenting juror voted to convict McClain. Several jurors reportedly believed that McClain’s conduct amounted to legitimate lobbying.
In 2023, McClain and three other co-defendants in the CoMed Four trial were found guilty of federal bribery charges and sentenced to two years in prison.He requested to be transferred to either Rochester, Minnesota, or Springfield, Missouri, and is expected to report to prison on October 30.
Olivia Varnado was an associate at the Willkie Chicago legal firm, which was headed by attorney John D. Mitchell. UB Greensfelder’s Patrick Cotter served as co-counsel in the case.
Longtime lobbyist and former Illinois lawmaker McClain was a co-defendant with another former lawmaker from Illinois. Among the charges were wire fraud, extortion, bribery, and racketeering.
UB Greensfelder’s Patrick Cotter served as co-counsel in the case.