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Both Madigan and McClain were in court Wednesday during jury selection, where attorneys made a small dent in questioning around 180 potential jurors.

U.S. District Judge John Robert Blakey warned that attorneys would have to adjust their timelines if questioning continued at such a slow rate.

Some questions potential jurors were asked included:

• Whether they feel like there’s an issue with the political system in Illinois.
• Whether they feel that lobbying is a bad thing.
• Whether they feel politicians shouldn’t mix business and politics.
• Whether they could consider the evidence regardless of their personal feelings about the Democratic Party in Illinois?

How would you answer those questions?

* Related…

* Questioning or juror panel continues in Madigan corruption trial as both sides seek to weed out bias: U.S. District Judge John Robert Blakey has given the parties wide leeway in their questioning and said he will not put a time limit on the process. But before taking a mid-morning break, he told the lawyers that at their current pace, they will not get to opening statements until the week after next, which will extend the trial beyond the 10 weeks originally scheduled. “I am not going to rush you guys at all. I’m not,” Blakey said. “It’s an important process, and it’s going to take as long as it needs to take. But if the trial is going to be 11 weeks, we need to let the jurors know that.”

* Michael Madigan meets a few of the people who could decide his fate — just 3 jurors chosen: Two men and one woman were the first to be chosen as jurors in the racketeering conspiracy trial of former Illinois House Speaker Michael J. Madigan on Wednesday, launching a selection process that got off to a slow start. One is an educator. Another works for Amazon. And the third says he works in insurance. Now, they’ll help decide the fate of one of the most powerful politicians in Illinois history. That man, Madigan, spent the day listening to lawyers interview potential jurors, including one person who said Madigan had a reputation for “doing things his way” and for being involved in “shady dealings.” He was excused from the panel.

* Three jurors selected so far to hear evidence in Madigan corruption trial: McClain, who had not been to the courthouse since his conviction in May 2023 in the related “ComEd Four” bribery case, sat at a table behind Madigan for most of the proceedings. The two longtime friends only seemed to acknowledge each other once in the courtroom, when, after a break, Madigan could be seen offering a half-wave, which McClain returned with a smile. … The third person selected, Juror 16, said flat-out he did not want to participate, but he was selected anyway. An insurance underwriter with three school-age kids, he grew up in the 19th Ward and said he knows Ald. Matt O’Shea but is not particularly political. He said he most recently went to O’Shea’s office for a block party permit. Asked if it was successful, the juror replied, “It was a good party.”

* Several jurors chosen, but process slow-going in Mike Madigan corruption trial jury selection: “An impartial jury is always difficult in a case like this because everybody is going to have heard about the case. Anyone who says they haven’t heard about the case is probably lying. Anyone who said they haven’t heard about at least Michael Madigan is probably lying,” criminal defense attorney Steve Greenberg said. “You want to endear yourself to the jurors. So, both sides are going to be talking to them. They’re going to want to be likable. They’re going to use some humor when they’re asking questions. They’re going to try and relate to the jurors.”