Former Speaker of the Illinois House, Michael Madigan, 83, was handed a federal prison sentence of 7 and a half years in June of 2025 after he was convicted of racketeering, bribery, and conspiracy charges in February 2025. His crimes concerned funding for the state’s utility grid and the biggest electrical utility in Illinois, Commonwealth Edison.
Not surprisingly, Madigan is a Democrat. During his lengthy career in politics, he held the Speaker position for all but two years during the period when Republicans, very briefly, held control over the state House between 1989 and 2021. He resigned from the position after he was indicted in 2021.
Prosecutors in the case say that during his time in public service, Madigan helped to establish a culture of corruption that eventually led to recordings being made by the FBI of associates asking the former Speaker for favors in exchange for the passing of legislation involving ComEd and others, which made their way to a vote on the House floor.
“At the very pinnacle of power in state government, defendant Michael Madigan exploited his power to enrich himself and his associates,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah Streicker went on to say at the sentencing hearing, according to ENR Midwest. “He now stands convicted of 10 crimes, including some of the most serious that a public official can commit.”
Streicker then said that while a number of governors passed through the state government, Madigan stuck around for a staggering 36 years. The power the former Speaker wielded was based on moving various bills forward for a vote, which included a 2016 rate hike. A longtime confidant of Madigan’s, Michael McClain allegedly spoke with former ComEd CEO Anne Pramaggiore in a message recorded on May 18 that “We got — we’ve gotta kill it, period.” The message was a reference to a piece of legislation that would have enabled the state’s energy grid to be brought up to date, allowing more renewable energy sources to be used.
However, if the bill passed, it would not have benefited ComEd. Pramaggiore and McClain were both convicted of racketeering and conspiracy. In reality, Madigan got off light. According to Federal Judge John Blakey, the crimes committed by Madigan should have earned him 105 years in prison, but he considered that sentence ridiculous, likely due to Madigan’s already advanced age.
Federal prosecutors wanted to see the former Speaker tossed behind bars for 12-and-a-half years. Madigan himself pleaded with the judge to let him remain free so he could care for his elderly wife. Judge Blakey wasn’t in the mood for that level of mercy. Just before handing him his sentence, Blakey addressed Madigan’s testimony delivered during the trial, calling it a “nauseating display of perjury and evasion. You lied, sir. You lied. You did not have to. You had the right to sit there and exercise your right to silence, but you took the stand and you took the law into your own hands.”
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Madigan was also slapped with a massive $2.5 million fine, along with his prison sentence. The Democratic former Speaker was required to report to federal prison authorities on Oct. 13. Pramaggiore and McClain, and others involved in the corruption have yet to be charged. Out of a total of 9 charges, 4 were tossed out by a ruling from the Supreme Court. However, the most serious criminal conspiracy charge remained.
U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, Andrew Boutros, went on to say in a statement that Madigan’s sentence is “a clear message that criminal conduct by former Speaker Michael Madigan was unacceptable. Corruption at the highest level of the state legislature tears at the fabric of a vital governing body.”
Featured Image: screenshot from embedded video