(WBBM NEWSRADIO) — The foreman of the Madigan jury talks about the deliberations inside the jury room.
Tim Nessner is an insurance underwriter from the Beverly neighborhood. Since October he's been known as Juror number 16.
He did not think he would be on the Madigan jury when he received the federal jury summons last year.
He said that when deliberations began 11 days ago, they agreed to tackle the racketeering charge last. Nessner said the jury was prepared to acquit Madigan, but there was one holdout.
“There was one juror who was persuaded to vote guilty and that kind of hit us like a hurricane. That was yesterday afternoon. And that was, I think that's when everybody sort of hit their end point.” Nessner said.
The result, no verdict.
He concludes his service with a greater appreciation for the jury system, which he says checks the power of politicians and the people who prosecute them.
“As a jury, we really came together. We put in the hard work. We took each count by itself. So to me, the jury system is very much alive.”
While he voted to convict Madigan on ten counts of corruption, he says it's a sad day for the state of Illinois.
“My inner feelings aren't great. I mean, nobody likes to put anybody in jail, or sentence anybody to anything, you know, finding him guilty on any charge, I think, you know, didn't feel great.”
Nessner says he's ready to go back to his normal life.
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