It’s been 2 1/2 years since Mike Madigan was indicted by a federal grand jury on 23 counts of criminal behavior during 36 years as Speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives. One of the most, if not the most, powerful and popular Chicago politicians ever. For 2 1/2 years, he’s been ever-so-painfully awaiting his trial. And now that the trial has begun and is likely to go on for 8 or 10 weeks, it is ever-so-painfully possible he’ll be locked up in a federal prison. Mr. Former Speaker Madigan is accused of racketeering and wire fraud, bribery, and extortion that have been big news since the indictment and will now become bigger news because Madigan and the list of charges against him are part and parcel of the competition between Chicago’s radio and TV stations and the tougher competition between the Chicago Tribune and the Sun-Times. Their headlines have been stunning. Mike Madigan, his family, and much of the rest of Chicago, including the jurors in his trial, who no doubt have been seeing the headlines as they are accompanied by pictures of Madigan scowling. If those jurors find him guilty, will some of the reasons be the headlines and pictures? If yes, is the trial as fair as it’s required by law to be? My opinion is, that because the jurors hardly can be missing the headlines and pictures, if they vote Madigan guilty, my guess being they will vote him guilty, the trial hardly can be fair.

Walter Jacobson gives his Perspective: