Michael Madigan, once the most powerful figure in Illinois politics, was sentenced to seven and a half years in federal prison Friday, Crain’s reported. The sentencing capped one of the most consequential political corruption cases in the state’s history.
The former Illinois House Speaker and longtime chair of the state’s Democratic Party was convicted in February on 10 counts tied to a near decade-long bribery conspiracy. The sentencing was short of the 12.5 years federal prosecutors sought — and almost a century shy of the 105-year sentence U.S. District Judge Jack Blakey said Madigan’s crimes called for based on sentencing guidelines.
The jury found Madigan guilty of conspiracy, wire fraud and illegally leveraging state appointments to secure private law business, including a push to steer developers of the Old Post Office renovation toward his real estate law firm, Madigan & Getzendanner.
The centerpiece of the case involved utility giant ComEd’s hiring Madigan allies to curry favor in Springfield. The investigation pulled in Madigan’s private property tax appeal firm and its ties to real estate players.
Prosecutors initially charged Madigan with racketeering, but the jury did not convict on that count, nor did it reach a verdict on claims involving a Chinatown land deal or AT&T Illinois.
Jurors also cleared him of bribery tied to the Union West apartment project, a 357-unit development in the West Loop. That portion of the case hinged on Madigan’s dealings with former alderman Danny Solis, who wore a wire for the FBI and cooperated extensively with prosecutors. Despite a recording in which Solis mentioned a “quid pro quo,” jurors found no wrongdoing related to that deal.
Madigan, 82, led the Illinois House for nearly four decades and was the longest-serving speaker in U.S. history. His tax appeal firm helped developers cut millions off their property tax bills, making him a central player, if often behind-the-scenes, in Chicago’s development landscape.
The outcome delivers a stark message to the Chicago power structure that has long blended real estate, politics and patronage. The verdict and sentencing mark the fall of a political institution whose dual role in public policy and private law blurred lines of influence for years.
— Judah Duke