Feds seek 12.5-year sentence, $1.5 million fine for former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan

CBS News

3 days ago

Federal prosecutors are seeking a steep 12 ½-year prison term and $1.5 million fine for former Illinois House Speaker Michale Madigan, who was convicted earlier this year of bribery, conspiracy, and fraud charges.
Federal prosecutors argued that, not only was Madigan's decades-long reign as speaker "steeped in corruption," but that he repeatedly lied on the stand when he testified in his own defense.
"Madigan has expressed no remorse for his crimes, nor has he acknowledged the damage wrought by his conduct. Indeed, Madigan went so far as to commit perjury at trial in an effort to avoid accountability, and he persists in framing his actions as nothing more than helping people," federal prosecutors wrote in their 72-page sentencing recommendation submitted on Friday.
Madigan, 83, is scheduled to be sentence on June 13. In February, following a four-month trial, Madigan was convicted on 10 counts and acquitted on seven others, while jurors were deadlocked on six other counts against him.
"The crimes charged and proven at trial demonstrate that Madigan engaged in corrupt activity at the highest level of state government for nearly a decade," federal prosecutors argued in their sentencing memo. "Time after time, Madigan exploited his immense power for his own personal benefit by trading his public office for private gain for himself and his associates, all the while carefully and deliberately concealing his conduct from detection."
If U.S. District Judge John Robert Blakey grants the feds' request, Madigan would be about 94 years old before he is eligible for release, as federal convicts must serve at least 85% of their sentence before they can go free.
Federal prosecutors originally sought a $3.1 million forfeiture judgment against Madigan after his conviction, but withdrew that request last month.
Madigan's defense team has yet to file its sentencing recommendation. His attorneys have already filed a bid for a new trial in his case, but the judge has yet to rule on their request.
Following 11 weeks of testimony, jurors convicted Madigan of one count of bribery conspiracy involving ComEd, two counts of bribery involving ComEd, three counts of wire fraud related to an effort to secure a state board seat for disgraced former Ald. Danny Solis, and four counts of using interstate commerce to facilitate bribery.
Madigan was acquitted of one count of bribery related to the Solis state board scheme, two counts related to the ComEd scheme, and four counts involving a scheme to get business for his private law firm from the developers of a luxury apartment building in the West Loop.
Solis testified against Madigan under an agreement with federal prosecutors that will see him avoid bribery charges of his own. Solis secretly recorded phone calls and in-person conversations with Madigan for years.
Jurors were deadlocked on the top count against Madigan – racketeering conspiracy – as well as 11 other charges tied to Solis and other counts related to legislation tied to a development deal in Chinatown.
It's unclear if federal prosecutors will seek to retry Madigan on the charges for which jurors could not reach a verdict.
Jurors also were unable to reach a verdict on any of the counts against Madigan's co-defendant and longtime political confidante, Michael McClain. However, McClain and three others previously were convicted on related charges in the so-called "ComEd Four Trial" in 2023, so McClain still faces sentencing on those charges in July.
The video above is from an earlier report.