Timothy Mapes, the former chief of staff to then-Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan, walked into the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse on Thursday morning for a status hearingThe in-person hearing, a relative rarity in a building still operating under COVID-19 protocols, had been called by U.S. District Judge John Kness, who took over Mapes’ case after the previous judge, John Lee, ascended to the 7th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals.
Kness set hearing for Mapes for Nov. 29, when he will hear arguments on pending motions and likely set a new trial date. An indictment filed last year alleged Mapes repeatedly lied during a March 31, 2021, appearance before the grand jury when asked about Madigan’s relationship with his longtime confidant Michael McClain,in 2020 with orchestrating a bribery scheme by Commonwealth Edison to shower money on Madigan’s associates in exchange for the speaker’s help with legislation in Springfield.