Ex-Illinois House speaker sentenced to 7.5 years in prison, $2.5 million fine for corruption

A federal judge sentenced Michael Madigan on Friday to seven-and-a-half years in prison and ordered him to pay a fine of $2.5 million for crimes committed during his tenure as the longest-serving speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives.

Judge John Robert Blakey handed down the 90-month sentence Friday at the Everett McKinley Dirksen U.S. Courthouse in Chicago. He also imposed three years of supervised release after his prison time ends. Madigan will be required to report to prison on Oct. 13.

The judge said it was difficult to reconcile the two recommendations, one from government attorneys and one from the defense. Prosecutors had asked for a 12.5-year prison sentence and a $1.5 million fine. Defense attorneys requested that Madigan be sentenced to a year of home confinement with probation and community service.

In considering sentence mitigation, Blakey said he didn’t just read the letters sent to him on Madigan’s behalf, but he dwelled upon them at length.

He also noted Madigan’s “clear dedication” to public service.

“Being great is hard, but being honest is not,” Blakey said. “This case is really sad. He had no reason to commit these crimes, but he chose to do so.”

“I’m not holding the defendant responsible for public corruption in Illinois,” Blakey said, noting Madigan was responsible for his corruption but not for all public corruption.

Blakey said he considered Madigan’s age and the support of family and friends to be important as mitigating factors.

The judge then went through aggravating factors in considering the sentence.

“This is a tale of two different Michael Madigans,” Blakey said. “He had no reason to do the things he did in this case.”

“When he takes the stand and tries to lie, that’s an aggravating factor.”

Madigan's decision to testify at his trial surprised many.

The judge called the ex-speaker’s testimony “a nauseating display of perjury and evasion.”

“You lied, sir. You did not have to, but you did,” Blakey told Madigan.

Before handing down the sentence, Blakey offered Madigan the chance to speak. After consulting his lawyers, the former speaker accepted and thanked the judge for the opportunity.

“I’m truly sorry for putting the people of the state of Illinois through this,” Madigan said.

The 83-year-old ex-speaker asked that Blakey let him take care of his ailing wife Shirley and take care of his family.

In final arguments before sentencing, Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah Streicker said Madigan exploited his position in public office when he was at the pinnacle of power in state government.

“For years, the defendant held a public image of working for the people,” Streicker said. “He breached the public trust.”

“The sentencing factors require a significant term of incarceration,” Streicker said, adding that Madigan’s corrupt actions involved “huge pieces of legislation that affected everyone in the state.”

Streicker suggested that Madigan’s damage to the fabric of Illinois was even greater than the damage done by convicted former Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who was pardoned earlier this year by President Donald Trump.

“Governors, they came and went over the years, but Madigan stayed. His power and his presence remained constant,” Streicker said. “The primary harm is the erosion of trust in government.”

In discussing deterrence, Streicker said Madigan’s crimes added another chapter to the sordid history of Illinois politics.

“The public is paying attention,” Streicker said.

Defense attorney Dan Collins thanked Blakey for spending his weekend reading letters written on Madigan’s behalf and pleaded for the judge to consider Madigan’s character.

“His leadership has been so strong,” Collins said.

“Mike did not live his life to seek power,” Collins added. “He was a man who did his best.”

Collins said Madigan now spent his time caring for his sick wife.

“Today, judge, mercy is justice,” Collins concluded. “Mike deserves mercy today.”

A jury convicted Madigan Feb. 12 on 10 counts of bribery, conspiracy, wire fraud and use of a facility to promote unlawful activity.

Brian Gaines, Honorable W. Russell Arrington Professor in State Politics at the University of Illinois, said prosecutors made the strongest case they could.

"I don't think anybody who’s paid close attention imagines that this particular case represents every example or every instance of financial impropriety that took place in this very, very long stretch of very, very powerful rule,” Gaines told The Center Square.

Gaines noted that Madigan’s bribery-related benefits to ComEd were estimated at hundreds of millions of dollars.

“And I don’t imagine that the court case got to the bottom of everything that’s untoward or illegal or unseemly,” Gaines added.

Streicker said the government moved to dismiss the remaining counts against “Madigan only” after the former speaker’s sentence was imposed. Madigan codefendant Michael McClain was not convicted with Madigan Feb. 12, but McClain was convicted at the related ComEd Four trial in 2023 and faces sentencing next month.

During discussion about sentencing guidelines, attorneys continued arguments about the utility’s valuation numbers provided by ComEd executive Scott Vogt during the trial.

Defense attorneys disputed prosecutors’ arguments for sentencing enhancement based on the assertion that Madigan lied on the witness stand. Madigan attorney Lari Dierks said the government did not provide evidence of Madigan’s perjury, adding that 140 people wrote to the court affirming the former speaker’s honesty.

“His word is his bond. He has a reputation of a lifetime of honesty,” Dierks said of the former speaker.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Julia Schwartz said Madigan told purposeful lies on the stand when he said he expected ComEd subcontractors to work.

At one point during his explanation of calculations regarding sentencing guidelines, the judge referred to Blagojevich’s attempted $1.5 million bribe to appoint someone to former U.S. Sen. Barack Obama's seat after he was elected president, which the judge said no one was “willing to pay or able to pay.”

In Madigan’s case, Blakey said the government provided evidence that ComEd’s projected increase in shareholder value was expected to exceed $400 million.

“The law doesn’t require exact precision,” Blakey said.

The judge echoed Schwartz’ argument earlier in the week when he said he was being conservative by estimating the benefit to ComEd to be at least $400 million.

“The $400 million estimate is not speculative,” Blakey said, adding that he would apply the government’s enhancement to sentencing.

Blakey said the government overwhelmingly proved its argument in favor of sentencing enhancement for an organizer, leader or supervisor of criminal activity.

“Madigan acted as the central command post for the entire bribery scheme,” Blakey said.

Blakey also said prosecutors established that Madigan willfully gave false testimony during the trial. The judge gave several examples of the ex-speaker’s perjurious statements.

Madigan served in the Illinois House from 1971 to 2021. He was speaker for all but two years between 1983 and 2021. Madigan also chaired the Democratic Party of Illinois from 1998 to 2021.

After a break, Blakey ruled on sentencing enhancements related to Madigan’s convictions related to a state board seat for former Chicago Alderman Daniel Solis, D-Chicago, who was a cooperating witness for the government.

The judge again ruled in favor of prosecutors.

“When I sit down with [Governor-elect J.B.] Pritzker, I’ll tell him, ‘This is what we want to do,’” Blakey said, repeating Madigan’s comments to Solis during a recorded call.

The judge said again that Madigan willfully made false statements during trial.

“The defendant lied,” Blakey said.

The judge said the court gave only a few relevant examples of Madigan’s perjury.

Blakey noted that the court would not apply a potential decrease in sentencing due to the defendant’s refusal to show remorse or accept responsibility.

Illinois House Minority Leader Tony McCombie, R-Savanna, said it was disappointing that some former Republican politicians joined Democrats in writing letters on Madigan’s behalf.

“Absolutely. We do sound like a broken record with our continuous calls for ethics reform, but we have to have them. We can’t rely on the federal prosecution to hold elected officials to a higher standard, regardless of who stood up for them. That says something about those folks as well,” McCombie told The Center Square.

After explaining sentencing calculations, the judge named 105 years in prison as the advisory range. He said the guidelines did not recommend probation but did include terms of supervised release.

Blakey said the guideline range for a fine was $50,000 to $500,000, but said the statutory maximum was $2.5 million. He later suggested that the crimes committed could have provided for a greater fine.

Streicker suggested that a potential term of supervised release should prevent the defendant from holding elected position.

Madigan attorney Dan Collins said he would not object.

“Mike is not going to hold office or seek office ever again,” Collins said.