Longest-serving legislative leader in US history given 7 1/2 years in federal corruption case

The stunning downward spiral of Michael Madigan’s governmental vocation ended Friday with a 7 1/2-year situation condemnation and a $2.5 cardinal good for the erstwhile Illinois House talker and the longest-serving legislative person successful U.S. past aft helium was convicted of trading authorities for the enrichment of his friends and allies.

U.S. District Judge John Robert Blakey sentenced the 83-year-old successful U.S. District Court successful Chicago.

Nicknamed the "Velvet Hammer" for his quiescent but hard-nosed style, Madigan was convicted successful February connected 10 of 23 counts successful a singular corruption proceedings that lasted 4 months. The lawsuit churned done 60 witnesses and mountains of documents, photographs and taped conversations.

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Federal prosecutors sought a 12 1/2-year situation term. Madigan’s attorneys wanted 5 years' probation, saying helium is simply a bully antheral who tried to bash close by taxpayers and needs to beryllium location to attraction for his ailing wife, Shirley, who submitted a videotaped connection to the tribunal requesting her hubby beryllium capable to travel home.

But Blakey noted that national sentencing guidelines allowed for a word of 105 years based connected findings successful grounds — notably that Madigan committed perjury erstwhile helium took the basal successful his ain defense. Blakey was peculiarly piqued implicit what helium called "a nauseating show of perjury and evasion."

"You lied. You did not person to. You had a close to beryllium determination and workout your close to silence," Blakey said. "But you took the stand, and you took the instrumentality into your ain hands."

Flanked by attorneys and supporters, Illinois' erstwhile House Speaker Michael Madigan walks into the Dirksen Federal Courthouse for his sentencing hearing, Friday, June 13, 2025, successful Chicago. (Ashlee Rezin/Chicago Sun-Times via AP)

During a legislative vocation spanning fractional a century, Madigan served astir 4 decades arsenic speaker, the longest connected grounds for a U.S. legislator. Combined with much than 20 years arsenic chairperson of the Illinois Democratic Party, helium acceptable overmuch of the state’s governmental docket portion handpicking candidates for governmental office. More often than not, helium besides controlled governmental mapmaking, drafting lines to favour his party.

Meanwhile, prosecutors said, the Chicago Democrat built a backstage ineligible vocation that allowed him to amass a nett worthy of $40 million.

Madigan was convicted connected 10 counts of bribery, conspiracy, ligament fraud and different charges for ensuring support of legislation favorable to inferior elephantine ComEd successful speech for kickbacks and jobs and contracts for loyalists, including a Chicago alderman seeking a paid occupation connected a authorities committee aft retiring from government.

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The assemblage deadlocked connected six counts, including an overarching racketeering conspiracy charge, and acquitted him connected 7 others.

Madigan spoke concisely earlier sentencing, asking to debar situation truthful helium could attraction for his woman and walk his last years with his family.

"I’m genuinely atrocious for putting the radical of the authorities of Illinois done this," Madigan said. "I tried to bash my champion to service the radical of the authorities of Illinois. I americium not perfect."

Former Illinois Speaker of the House Michael Madigan, flanked by daughters Nicole, left, and Tiffany, leaves the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse aft jurors recovered him blameworthy connected 10 counts successful his racketeering case, Feb. 12, 2025. (E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

During a three-and-a-half-hour hearing, Blakey noted the galore letters sent to the tribunal supporting Madigan. The justice said Madigan was a bully household antheral and a benignant man, helping his neighbors without pause.

But helium said, "Being large is hard. Being honorable is not. It's hard to perpetrate crimes. It really takes effort."

Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah Streicker hammered location the information that Madigan has not taken work for the crimes oregon shown immoderate remorse.

Illinois State Representative Michael Madigan addresses authorities representatives  after helium was re-elected arsenic Speaker of the House astatine the University of Illinois field successful Springfield, Illinois, connected  January 11, 2017.    (REUTERS/Joshua Lott)

Streicker noted that Madigan, having served arsenic talker done 7 governors, "had each accidental to acceptable the modular for honorable government." Instead, she said, "he acceptable close into the mold of yet different corrupt person successful Illinois."

Defense lawyers had called the government’s recommended condemnation "Draconian" and, fixed Madigan’s age, a beingness sentence.

"He did not question to beryllium greedy. He lived a precise frugal beingness …," Madigan lawyer Dan Collins said. "The rhetoric wants to marque Mike liable for the agelong past of corruption successful Illinois. He is not, Judge. He is 1 man."

They asked Blakey to see the totality of Madigan’s beingness and enactment and the request to attraction for his woman successful requesting a condemnation of 5 years’ probation, with 1 twelvemonth of location confinement, a request to execute assemblage work and a "reasonable fine."

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In a video submitted to the court, Shirley Madigan said she needed her hubby to travel home.

"I truly don’t beryllium without him," she said. "I privation I could accidental that I do, but I don’t cognize what I would bash without Michael. I would astir apt person to find someplace to live, and I'd astir apt person to find care."

Tried alongside Madigan was his erstwhile legislative workfellow and longtime confidant, Michael McClain. The assemblage couldn’t scope a determination connected immoderate of the six counts against McClain. He was convicted, though, successful a abstracted proceedings implicit the ComEd conspiracy past year.