Former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan may not physically be in court Wednesday, but his name will surely be front and center when opening statements get underway in the trial of a former AT&T Illinois boss accused of bribing the Democratic powerhouse.
Paul La Schiazza, 66, is charged with participating in a scheme to funnel $22,500 in payments to newly retired state Rep. Edward Acevedo, a longtime Madigan associate, in exchange for the speaker’s help passing legislation important to the phone giant that ended mandated landline service and saved the company millions of dollars.
Opening statements are scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. in U.S. District Judge Robert Gettleman’s courtroom, where a jury panel of nine women and six men — three of whom are alternates — was selected in the case in a full day of questioning Tuesday.
Included on the panel are a 68-year-old woman from Skokie whose husband is a producer for WGN-TV, a 49-year-old woman from Antioch who worked as a law firm accountant, and a 26-year-old man from south suburban Crete who works at a machine shop.