Mar. 2—It's just politics.

Get ready to hear that defense raised as four alleged ringleaders of the Commonwealth Edison bribery conspiracy prepare for their mid-March trial while former House Speaker Michael Madigan seeks dismissal of charges against him.

Every case is, of course, different. But the "just politics" defense has been raised before in previous Illinois corruption trials and gone down in flames.

Former Gov. Rod Blagojevich tried to frame his trades of appointments to state posts and grant money for campaign cash as perfectly legal politics as usual.

Former Gov. George Ryan sought to dismiss his misdeeds while governor and secretary of state as traditionally legal you-scratch-my-back-and-I'll-scratch-yours favor-trading.

Federal juries didn't buy either governor's argument. As a consequence, they and a slew of their co-conspirators ended up in the joint.

Now it's just about time for the co-stars in the Madigan saga to perform the "it's just politics" song and dance and find out if jurors will applaud.

On Tuesday, U.S. Judge Harry Leinenweber announced jury selection will begin March 14 for four former ComEd executives and lobbyists.

They are former CEO Anne Pramaggiore and company lobbyists Michael McClain, John Hooker and Jay Doherty.

The oldest defendant is the 75-year-old McClain, and the youngest is the 64-year-old Pramaggiore.

Convictions leading to prison sentences could lay the groundwork for some/all spending the rest of their lives in prison.

So far, there's been no sign that any of them is interested in copping a plea and testifying for the prosecution in exchange for a reduced sentence.

Why? Maybe they're innocent — possible, but not likely. Maybe they feel loyalty to each other. McClain, a close personal friend of Madigan, has acknowledged rejecting a plea offer that would require him to testify against his buddy.

Maybe the feds have concluded they don't need their testimony to get a conviction. After all, other possible prosecutorial targets already made a deal to squeal.

Chief among them is former ComEd Vice President Fidel Marquez, who agreed to cooperate with investigators and wore a wire that captured beaucoup incriminating conversations.

The gist of the government's case is that ComEd agreed to provide no-show jobs to members of Madigan's political team in exchange for favorable treatment by Madigan of ComEd-backed legislation.

ComEd, as a company, has acknowledged guilt, agreed to pay a mammoth $200 million fine and pledged cooperation with the investigation.

Meanwhile, Madigan and McClain face a separate trial in early 2024 that alleges two bribery conspiracy cases — one involving ComEd and the second involving AT&T.

In legal filings this week, Madigan's team of high-price legal all-stars argued that tape recordings should be suppressed and charges dismissed because the government is seeking to criminalize legal lobbying.

"Currying favor with government officials — even those with a capacity to influence legislation of interest to the employers — is legal," Madigan lawyers argued.

They asserted that the government's indictment "impermissibly treats lawful ingratiation as illegal bribery" and argued that "the mismatch between the conduct alleged and the statutes invoked is a fatal defect that precludes this prosecution."

Remember that phrase: "lawful ingratiation." It's a beauty, one that perfectly encapsulates how powerful interests usually get what they want from those who control the levers of power in Illinois.

While fiendishly clever, the phrase is not all-encompassing. Sometimes a little unlawful ingratiation is needed to push the ball into the end zone.

But that, too, as history has shown, is just politics as usual in Illinois.