Madigan's defense attorney Dan Collins, when he began his own closing arguments Friday afternoon, rebutted that the government's case wasn't as strong as it would like the jurors to believe. He argued it relied on jurors' cynicism regarding politicians to fill in evidentiary gaps.

To convict Michael Madigan of a racketeering conspiracy, jurors will need to find that Madigan or his close ally agreed that two so-called racketeering acts would be committed — not that they were actually carried out.