Jury begins deliberations in 'ComEd 4' federal bribery trial
CHICAGO (CBS) – The federal case against the "ComEd Four" is in the hands of the jury, which started its deliberations late Tuesday afternoon after more than six weeks.
But first, jurors heard the last closing arguments and a rebuttal from the prosecution. CBS 2's Tara Molina was in the courthouse to hear the latest.
Federal prosecutors gave it one more go in court on Tuesday, telling the jury the four defendants crossed the line from legitimate lobbying into illegal bribery.
Defense attorneys detailed why that's not the case.
They argued that "lobbying is not illegal" and "this is not a bribery conspiracy. This is a business decision." The defense attorneys tried to show examples of what they said prove everything between former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan and ComEd was above board.
The closing arguments on Tuesday came on behalf of retired ComEd Vice President John Hooker and former ComEd consultant Jay Doherty.
They were charged along with ex-ComEd CEO Anne Pramaggiore and former ComEd lobbyist Mike McClain. Federal prosecutors made a final push in their rebuttal and asked the jury to hold the defendants accountable for what they called a corruption scheme spanning eight years.
Jurors got the case around 3 p.m. and wrapped up around 5 p.m. They will continue to deliberate this week until they reach a verdict.
The jury will resume deliberations at 10 a.m. on Wednesday.
