Former alderman free on bond

A federal judge has freed a former Chicago alderman jailed since his arrest on charges he tried to accept kickbacks in a scheme to sell bandages to hospitals.

Prosecutors and defense attorneys said at a Tuesday hearing they had agreed to terms of Ambrosio Medrano’s release. The conditions included a $175,000 bond secured by his mother-in-law’s home and a daily 10 p.m. curfew.

The 58-year-old former alderman entered the hearing in an orange jail jumpsuit and leg chains.

He and former Cook County commissioner Joseph Moreno were arrested last week. Moreno was released on bond, but prosecutors initially deemed Medrano a flight risk and he was kept behind bars.

Medrano spent time in prison in the 1990s after pleading guilty in an investigation of payoffs to Chicago-area politicians.