Finding a jury to hear the case against former Illinois House Speaker Michael J. Madigan took as long as some trials do from start to finish.After seven days and scores of interviews, eight women and four men have been chosen to decide if Madigan is guilty of a racketeering conspiracy. Two of six alternate jurors are still needed, but the judge is aiming for opening statements to begin Monday afternoon.So what took so long?U.S. District Judge John Blakey seemed to blame the amount of time lawyers spent questioning the many candidates over the last two weeks. In fact, the judge said Thursday he’d no longer take the lawyers at their word when it comes to estimating the trial’s length.He asked them to predict how long they expect each witness to testify once the trial gets rolling, and he told them to deliver their conclusions to him Friday. For now, each side is calling it an “11-week trial,” putting it on track to end in mid-December. Why the Madigan trial matters Why the Madigan trial mattersMichael J. Madigan was the longest-serving state House speaker in the United States. That position made him the leader of the Illinois House of Representatives for nearly four decades, where he shepherded legislation that affected everyday life in Illinois. He also served for more than 20 years as the head of the Democratic Party of Illinois. Ultimately, he rose to become one of the most dominant politicians in Illinois since the late Chicago Mayor Richard J. Daley.What to expect in the trialWho was caught up in the investigationWho is Judge John Blakey?The documents behind the caseRead all our coverage of the historic trial here. Blakey seems particularly concerned with the jurors’ schedules over the lengthy trial.The panel includes a nurse who enjoys Marvel movies, a woman who works at a Goodwill donation center, and another woman who has worked in catering — including for an event tied to the recent Democratic National Convention.There is also a painter who works in acrylics and lives in the 19th Ward, but who hopes to move to Ireland in the next five years, and a woman whose favorite TV shows include “The Office” and “Game of Thrones.”One juror said her friend, “Becky,” correctly surmised that the juror had likely been summoned for jury duty in Madigan’s trial. She said Becky told her, “If you get on the jury, vote guilty.”That juror described her friend as a “Trumper” who hates all Democrats, though, “except me, maybe.”Madigan is accused of leading a criminal enterprise designed to enhance his political power and enrich his allies and associates. His longtime friend and confidant, Michael McClain, is accused of acting as Madigan’s agent, passing along his instructions and shielding him from liability. Michael McClain walks out of the Dirksen Federal Court Building, Wednesday, October 9, 2024. | Anthony Vazquez/Sun-TimesAnthony Vazquez/Sun-Times Madigan has played a prominent — and polarizing — role in Illinois politics for decades. That certainly factored into jury selection, but it wasn’t necessarily the reason things took so long.For example, former R&B superstar R. Kelly went to trial in the same building two years ago, and a jury was chosen for his child pornography case in two days. Last year, a jury was chosen to hear the racketeering case against ex-Ald. Edward M. Burke over four days.U.S. District Judge Harry Leinenweber handled the questioning of the potential Kelly jurors himself, though. More than 60 people were questioned on the first day of jury selection for that trial.U.S. District Judge Virginia Kendall let attorneys participate in questioning for the Burke case, but 20 people were still interviewed during his first day.In the Madigan case, Blakey took an approach similar to Kendall’s and let prosecutors and defense attorneys handle much of the questioning. They managed to interview 10 people on the first day of inquiries, and they wound up meeting with 14 people per day, on average. Related The politics of picking a Madigan jury: Prospects asked how they view ‘politicians for life’ Blakey warned the lawyers early on that they were spending 36 minutes with each person. The next day, he said they’d sped up to 21 minutes.“I am not going to rush you guys at all,” he insisted. “I’m not. It’s an important process.”But two days went by this week without any jurors being chosen for the panel. Assistant U.S. Attorney Amarjeet Bhachu alleged Wednesday that defense attorneys were trying to wear potential jurors down over several minutes until they admitted they couldn’t be fair.Blakey told Bhachu to object if he thought defense attorneys were taking too long.Plenty of people were dismissed from the jury on fairness grounds, including many who didn’t even make it into the courtroom. Prosecutors and defense attorneys agreed to excuse many people based on their answers on written questionnaires, including people who expressed “animus” toward Madigan.The judge agreed to dismiss others following their in-court questioning. Sometimes he did so while erring on the side of caution. For example, Blakey dismissed a woman who’d recalled hearing about the guilty verdicts in last year’s ComEd bribery trial, in which McClain was among those convicted.Another man excused from the jury pool said he’d heard Madigan associated with the words “corruption,” “bribery,” and “fraud.”But Blakey’s frustration with the pace of things became clear Wednesday. He began talking about setting a time limit — he called it a “shot clock” — for the rest of jury selection. On Thursday morning, Blakey even began to warn of a “shot clock” for the entire trial.By the end of the day, Blakey acknowledged, the lawyers had sped things up — but he soon made an exasperated joke about a process that never seems to end."It's like that horror movie where they think the murderer's dead." Related ‘Facts and common sense’: Chicago’s corruption jurors reflect on past trials as Ed Burke’s case nears