Jon Seidel
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Timothy Mapes was convicted of lying to a federal grand jury as part of an effort to thwart the feds’ probe into former House Speaker Michael Madigan.
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The judge’s decision comes as Illinois’ primary is less than three weeks away. It’s likely to be appealed.
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The Cook County judge denied Trump’s request to stay the challenge until after the U.S. Supreme Court weighs in on similar challenges in other states, setting a Feb. 16 next court date.
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Objectors asked the court to move quickly and are hoping it will hear arguments as soon as Monday.
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A judge declined to put the ComEd bribery case fully on hold Monday despite a Supreme Court review of a key corruption law. But a similar request is expected to be made of Madigan’s judge.
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The dismissal means ComEd no longer faces criminal charges and avoids conviction, while others have faced prison time as a result of the investigation that targeted former state House Speaker Michael Madigan.
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The verdict is the second in less than two months to address separate bribery schemes inside the Illinois Capitol. Weiss is a son-in-law of former Cook County Assessor Joseph Berrios.
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The decision means the ban will now likely remain in effect while the federal appeals court in Chicago takes time to hear arguments in the case.
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Michael J. Madigan will likely never step foot in the federal courtroom where four former political power players are about to face trial, accused of trying to bribe the longtime Illinois House speaker to benefit ComEd.