Michael Madigan, the sphinxlike politician who ruled over the Illinois House for decades, had his seeming invincibility shattered on Wednesday as jurors convicted him on 10 counts of bribery, conspiracy and wire fraud.
Jurors found Madigan not guilty on seven other counts, including a charge of racketeering conspiracy, and were deadlocked on six other counts. That it took jurors almost 65 hours to reach a split verdict speaks volumes about the complexity of the case and the difficulty of securing a corruption conviction against the man who ruled in Springfield longer than any other state House leader in the nation.
Federal prosecutors didn’t achieve total victory, but convicting Madigan is an outcome no one would have predicted when he was at the peak of his power. Playing his cards close to his vest, the inscrutable Madigan did not use email or a cell phone. Even fellow Democrats complained they found it hard to know his thinking on issues important to them.
With Madigan convicted and facing up to 20 years in prison, it’s time to close the book on corruption in our state. Illinois lawmakers must be aggressive, not timid, about ethics reforms.
It took four years to bring Madigan to justice after he left office in 2021. It shouldn’t take that long to enact anti-corruption reforms. Illinoisans deserve as much, having seen one politician after another convicted and imprisoned for abusing the public trust.
‘Blinded by profit’
If Madigan’s wings were clipped three years ago upon the announcement of his federal indictment, his conviction in the sweeping case obliterated the myth that he was an untouchable force who could do as he pleased.
“He had the trust that was placed in him by each and every member of the public,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Amarjeet Bhachu said during closing arguments of the four-month trial. “But in guiding that ship, if you will, Mr. Madigan abused that trust. He lost his way. He was blinded by profit. By power. By his desire to stay in power.”
Prosecutors accused Madigan of using his public and private jobs to build a formidable power base. ComEd and AT&T Illinois participated in Madigan’s schemes, prosecutors said, by giving Madigan associates do-nothing jobs — helping to build Madigan’s power — in exchange for favorable treatment of legislation that benefitted them.
The jury deadlocked on all six charges against Madigan’s co-defendant Michael McClain, who was previously convicted of conspiring to bribe Madigan in the “ComEd Four” trial two years ago.
In a highlight of the trial, Madigan took the stand in his defense to rebut former Ald. Danny Solis, the prosecution’s star witness. Solis’ testimony centered on five schemes tied to Madigan’s tax appeals law firm, ComEd and AT&T Illinois.
His focus: A Democratic majority
Over the years, Madigan, whose mentor was former Chicago Mayor Richard J. Daley, built his grip on the Legislature with an unwavering focus on amassing and preserving political power. The legislative votes he cared most about were those at the beginning of each session naming him the House speaker and approving rules that maximized his influence at the expense of individual members. Once he had achieved that dominance, there were no more replays of 1975, when it took 93 votes to elect an Illinois House speaker.
Madigan’s focus was not on public policy but on maintaining a Democratic majority, though he did work to prevent governors from circumventing the legislative process. He also adhered to basic Democratic values, such as collective bargaining, especially when they were challenged by former Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner.
Madigan profited when the state’s ended cumulative voting, which concentrated more power in the hands of the top two Democratic and top two Republican leaders. After losing the speakership to the Republicans in 1995, Madigan focused on building up strong enough Democratic majorities to draw electoral maps that would assure continued Democratic dominance in each election, though he also won under Republican maps.
Madigan also built up his political strength by persuading big party donors to give him a large share of their donations, allowing him to dole out money to members as he saw fit. He was highly organized, and perhaps harder-working than any other lawmaker, putting in seven days a week and reading every bill before permitting a House vote.
But as the evidence showed during the trial, Madigan also played the old school patronage game, parking loyalists in jobs around government and private companies and shepherding through legislation to benefit companies that hired his loyalists and made political contributions. His 13th Ward political operation echoed the way the Daley Machine rewarded campaign workers.
Illinois has a long record of being a reform leader on some front. But our leaders have also allowed corruption to take root.
But with Madigan’s conviction, our leaders have to show they’re willing to finally pull that root out altogether.
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