Day 26 of Michael Madigan Trial

Former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan’s federal corruption trial finished its seventh week of testimony Thursday as prosecutors march closer to resting their case.

Capitol News Illinois reports most of the day was spent on the yearlong effort to transfer state-owned land in Chicago’s Chinatown neighborhood to the city. From there, it was meant to be sold to a real estate developer.

Prosecutors allege Madigan put his longtime friend and Statehouse lobbyist Mike McClain on the project because Madigan was chasing the developers’ property tax business.

The jury has already seen a secretly recorded video in which Chicago alderman-turned-FBI cooperator Danny Solis promised Madigan the developers of the Chinatown land would hire his law firm.

But in dozens of wiretapped calls, the jury heard how the land transfer deal became politically fraught and ultimately failed.