SCOTUS ruling could upend federal corruption cases for Madigan and his allies

The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday narrowed the scope of a federal bribery law prosecutors have relied on in their cases against former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan and several of his allies convicted of bribing him.

A jury last spring found those allies — former lobbyists and executives for electric utility Commonwealth Edison – guilty on all counts, while a judge earlier this year pushed Madigan’s trial to October in order to wait for the high court’s decision on the federal bribery statute.