CHICAGO — The federal judge in the racketeering case against former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan hinted Thursday that prosecutors may have to significantly alter their game plan if they want to proceed, given this week’s U.S. Supreme Court ruling that walks back a key bribery statute contained in Madigan’s indictment.

The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 on Wednesday that the bribery statute commonly known as 666, which is its number in the federal criminal code, applies only to quid pro quo agreements and does not include “gratuities,” meaning rewards given to elected officials after the fact.

The fallout from the ruling will be particularly acute in Chicago, where federal prosecutors have used the 666 law for years to bring political corruption indictments, including Madigan’s, where it makes up five of the 23 overall counts charged against the longtime speaker of the House.

In a minute order posted to the docket Thursday, U.S. District Judge John Robert Blakey ordered both sides to meet and confer on the issues — including whether they should proceed with pending motions to dismiss and if the U.S. attorney’s office will seek a superseding indictment — and report back to him by July 8.

“The court reiterates the importance of maintaining the current trial date (which requires sufficient notice to the defense to litigate and otherwise defend the charges), and notes that it would not be in the interest of justice to litigate motions regarding the current indictment if the grand jury might issue a new charging instrument,” Blakey wrote.

Blakey’s order is the first of what likely will be a series of fast-moving legal developments in Madigan’s case as prosecutors seek to revamp the charges in accordance with the Supreme Court’s guidance.

With the Oct. 8 trial a little more than three months away, obtaining a superseding indictment — which would require the usual approvals from the U.S. Justice Department in Washington because of Madigan’s status of an ex-public official — could be complicated.

The motions to dismiss certain counts have been pending before Blakey for more than a year, in part because the Snyder decision was looming.

There has been no indication that prosecutors will simply drop all the charges against Madigan, and prosecutors have previously said they are willing to forgo any arguments to jurors that the benefits provided to Madigan were gratuities.

Among other options would be for federal prosecutors to trim the indictment down to allegations that do not involve the 666 statute or for them to find a way to use different federal statutes to charge the same conduct.

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