Democrats try to move on after ex-Speaker Michael Madigan’s conviction as GOP calls for greater state ethics reforms​on February 12, 2025 at 8:59 pm

Hoping to finally turn the page on former House Speaker Michael Madigan’s decadeslong reign over Illinois politics, Democrats — many of whom spent years bowing to the speaker’s power — cheered his conviction Wednesday on federal bribery conspiracy charges.

Republicans, meanwhile, sought to prevent their dominant rivals from running too far from the man who from the 1980s until his ouster in 2021 was the most powerful singular force in Springfield.

The long-awaited verdict came at an exceedingly awkward time in state and national politics. A federal jury convicted Madigan on just 10 of the nearly two dozen charges against him two days after Republican President Donald Trump awarded a full pardon to one of the former speaker’s top political nemeses, Rod Blagojevich, for the former Democratic governor’s own corruption convictions. The same day the president pardoned Blagojevich, whose prison sentence he’d already cut short through a commutation in 2020, Trump’s Justice Department shut down the ongoing federal corruption case against New York City Mayor Eric Adams, also a Democrat.

Gov. JB Pritzker, who has supplanted the longtime speaker as the center of gravity in Democratic politics in Illinois, said in a statement Wednesday that “those who violate the public’s trust must be held accountable if confidence in the system is to be restored.”

“The Madigan verdict by a jury of everyday Illinoisans is an important message to anyone in government — or those thinking about public service — that if you choose corruption you will be found out, and you will be punished,” Pritzker said. “This week has been a vital reminder that we must maintain our vigilance in cleaning up government and always put the people we serve first.”

Madigan, 82, was first elected to the House in 1970 and rose to become its minority leader a decade later. In 1983, he was elected House speaker by the Democratic majority and served in that position until 2021, except for two years in the mid-1990s when Republicans gained control of the chamber.

Madigan’s successor and onetime Springfield ally, House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch, in a statement praised the conviction, saying, “Investigators, prosecutors, and a jury of Illinoisans did their job.”

“I have always believed that a court of law was the place for this to all be sorted out,” said the Hillside Democrat, who as chair of a special House committee tasked with investigating Madigan in 2020 was accused by Republicans of instead serving as his protector.

“House Democrats have been focused on delivering for working people, rebuilding Illinois’ fiscal house, and prioritizing our shared values to combat the divisive tactics coming from Washington — and only through new leadership and a new vision of how the People’s House can operate would that work be possible,” Welch said. “House Democrats will continue to do our job and deliver for the people.”

Welch’s counterpart in the General Assembly’s other chamber, Senate President Don Harmon, also sought to focus attention on Springfield’s post-Madigan era.

“The jury’s verdict closes a long, disturbing chapter in Illinois’ history,” said the Oak Park Democrat, who early in his career was deputy legal counsel to Madigan. “It’s a stark reminder that corruption, abuse of power and manipulation of public policy for personal gain can never be tolerated. We cannot be effective if people don’t trust us.

“Yet, every failure is an opportunity to be better. In recent years, we have worked to restore that trust through balanced budgets, credit rating upgrades, community investments and sweeping, bipartisan ethics reform.”

Illinois Republicans, who were the minority party for nearly four decades under Madigan’s reign, chastised Democrats’ claims that they’ve passed meaningful state ethics reform and said more ethics legislation is needed.

“We all knew this day was coming, yet another sober day for our state, for our government, but most importantly, for Illinois, taxpayers and families throughout Illinois,” said House GOP leader Tony McCombie, of Savanna. “Instead of seizing that opportunity to implement real oversight and accountability, the (Democratic) majority has allowed the status quo of corruption and insider politics to continue. Well, we say enough is enough.”

“We cannot afford to have federal prosecutors continue to enforce our weak ethic laws, regardless of what Speaker Welch feels,” she said.

State Rep. Ryan Spain, deputy House GOP leader from Peoria, recalled the attempts in 2020 to convene a special investigatory committee chaired by Welch to look into Madigan, only to see House Democrats quickly abandon the effort as Welch declared the process “a sham.”

“Our House chamber still operates under the Madigan way. The rules of the House were written by Mike Madigan. The legislative districts were drawn by Madigan staffers. It’s the same amount of absolute power perfected through the Madigan playbook, the 13th Ward playbook that is still consolidated in the office of the speaker,” Spain said, referencing Madigan’s longtime political power base on Chicago’s Southwest Side.

“We have to throw out the Mike Madigan playbook and do away with this culture of corruption that continues to persist in our statehouse. I think we have all had enough of this. I know families across the state are fed up and they believe that it’s time that we act,” he said.

Good-government groups have also been critical of the changes to ethics laws that have been enacted since 2019 when the federal corruption probe that ultimately led to Madigan’s conviction first burst into public view. The Tribune also documented the deficiencies last year in its “Culture of Corruption” series.

In a joint statement Wednesday, a trio of advocacy groups gave House Democrats credit for “finally ousting Madigan when his indictment seemed inevitable” in 2021, but argued lawmakers haven’t done enough to fix the problems laid bare during the investigation and his trial.

“New faces have appeared in Springfield since 2021, and with this verdict, there are new opportunities for change,” Reform for Illinois, Common Cause Illinois and Change Illinois said in a joint statement. “We hope lawmakers will follow through on their promise to continue this work and begin rebuilding Illinoisans’ faith in their government. Failing to fix our broken system will just leave the door open for the next Madigan, continuing the cycle of corruption, scandal, and mistrust that plagues our state. Illinois deserves better.”

Among the Democrats who rallied to dethrone Madigan from his record-long 36-year run as speaker was state Rep. Kelly Cassidy of Chicago, who’d clashed publicly with the speaker since sexual harassment and bullying allegations against his lieutenants began surfacing in 2018.

It’s “critically important” for Illinois government that Madigan face “some measure of accountability for the decades of abuse of power and corruption,” Cassidy said in a statement.

“Particularly in a moment when our federal government has been subsumed by blatantly corrupt forces, we need our state government to be trustworthy to the public and focused on the will of the people, not self-interest,” Cassidy said. “This verdict will help move us toward that goal.”

Also among the 19 Democrats who blocked Madigan from reclaiming the gavel in 2021 was Rep. Ann Williams of Chicago, who made her own bid for speaker before ultimately backing Welch, who became the first Black representative to be named House speaker in Illinois.

“The historic election of Speaker Welch which followed has been transformative,” Williams said in a text message Wednesday. “As we enter Speaker Welch’s third term, it’s clear we have unequivocally moved away from the practices of the past, which put politics before people. It is time to put this chapter behind us as we face incredibly difficult challenges as a state and nation — challenges to our values and the very principles of democracy.

“It is critical the House be able to address these issues head on, without distraction, as a diverse but unified caucus,” Williams said.

Pat Brady, a former federal prosecutor who later served as chairman of the Illinois Republican Party from 2009 to 2013, described Madigan’s conviction as “the most significant corruption conviction in Illinois in recent history.”

Under his watch at the state GOP, Brady launched a “Fire Madigan” campaign at a time when many in the general public didn’t really know who Madigan was or appreciate the power he wielded in the state capitol.

“The finding of guilty reflected that Mike Madigan ran this state with an iron fist — not for the benefit of Illinois citizens but rather simply to keep himself in power,” he said. “The Madigan era was a horrible chapter in Illinois history and we should be grateful it’s over.”

Democrats applaud conviction of former leader, ex-Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan, as GOP argues it shows need for more ethics reform.   

By Jeremy Gorner | jgorner@chicagotribune.com | Chicago Tribune, Olivia Olander | oolander@chicagotribune.com | Chicago Tribune, Rick Pearson | rpearson@chicagotribune.com | Chicago Tribune and Dan Petrella | dpetrella@chicagotribune.com | Chicago Tribune

UPDATED: February 12, 2025 at 3:27 PM CST

Hoping to finally turn the page on former House Speaker Michael Madigan’s decadeslong reign over Illinois politics, Democrats — many of whom spent years bowing to the speaker’s power — cheered his conviction Wednesday on federal bribery conspiracy charges.

Republicans, meanwhile, sought to prevent their dominant rivals from running too far from the man who from the 1980s until his ouster in 2021 was the most powerful singular force in Springfield.

The long-awaited verdict came at an exceedingly awkward time in state and national politics. A federal jury convicted Madigan on just 10 of the nearly two dozen charges against him two days after Republican President Donald Trump awarded a full pardon to one of the former speaker’s top political nemeses, Rod Blagojevich, for the former Democratic governor’s own corruption convictions. The same day the president pardoned Blagojevich, whose prison sentence he’d already cut short through a commutation in 2020, Trump’s Justice Department shut down the ongoing federal corruption case against New York City Mayor Eric Adams, also a Democrat.

Gov. JB Pritzker, who has supplanted the longtime speaker as the center of gravity in Democratic politics in Illinois, said in a statement Wednesday that “those who violate the public’s trust must be held accountable if confidence in the system is to be restored.”

“The Madigan verdict by a jury of everyday Illinoisans is an important message to anyone in government — or those thinking about public service — that if you choose corruption you will be found out, and you will be punished,” Pritzker said. “This week has been a vital reminder that we must maintain our vigilance in cleaning up government and always put the people we serve first.”

Madigan, 82, was first elected to the House in 1970 and rose to become its minority leader a decade later. In 1983, he was elected House speaker by the Democratic majority and served in that position until 2021, except for two years in the mid-1990s when Republicans gained control of the chamber.

Madigan’s successor and onetime Springfield ally, House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch, in a statement praised the conviction, saying, “Investigators, prosecutors, and a jury of Illinoisans did their job.”

“I have always believed that a court of law was the place for this to all be sorted out,” said the Hillside Democrat, who as chair of a special House committee tasked with investigating Madigan in 2020 was accused by Republicans of instead serving as his protector.

“House Democrats have been focused on delivering for working people, rebuilding Illinois’ fiscal house, and prioritizing our shared values to combat the divisive tactics coming from Washington — and only through new leadership and a new vision of how the People’s House can operate would that work be possible,” Welch said. “House Democrats will continue to do our job and deliver for the people.”

Welch’s counterpart in the General Assembly’s other chamber, Senate President Don Harmon, also sought to focus attention on Springfield’s post-Madigan era.

“The jury’s verdict closes a long, disturbing chapter in Illinois’ history,” said the Oak Park Democrat, who early in his career was deputy legal counsel to Madigan. “It’s a stark reminder that corruption, abuse of power and manipulation of public policy for personal gain can never be tolerated. We cannot be effective if people don’t trust us.

“Yet, every failure is an opportunity to be better. In recent years, we have worked to restore that trust through balanced budgets, credit rating upgrades, community investments and sweeping, bipartisan ethics reform.”

Illinois Republicans, who were the minority party for nearly four decades under Madigan’s reign, chastised Democrats’ claims that they’ve passed meaningful state ethics reform and said more ethics legislation is needed.

“We all knew this day was coming, yet another sober day for our state, for our government, but most importantly, for Illinois, taxpayers and families throughout Illinois,” said House GOP leader Tony McCombie, of Savanna. “Instead of seizing that opportunity to implement real oversight and accountability, the (Democratic) majority has allowed the status quo of corruption and insider politics to continue. Well, we say enough is enough.”

“We cannot afford to have federal prosecutors continue to enforce our weak ethic laws, regardless of what Speaker Welch feels,” she said.

State Rep. Ryan Spain, deputy House GOP leader from Peoria, recalled the attempts in 2020 to convene a special investigatory committee chaired by Welch to look into Madigan, only to see House Democrats quickly abandon the effort as Welch declared the process “a sham.”

“Our House chamber still operates under the Madigan way. The rules of the House were written by Mike Madigan. The legislative districts were drawn by Madigan staffers. It’s the same amount of absolute power perfected through the Madigan playbook, the 13th Ward playbook that is still consolidated in the office of the speaker,” Spain said, referencing Madigan’s longtime political power base on Chicago’s Southwest Side.

“We have to throw out the Mike Madigan playbook and do away with this culture of corruption that continues to persist in our statehouse. I think we have all had enough of this. I know families across the state are fed up and they believe that it’s time that we act,” he said.

Good-government groups have also been critical of the changes to ethics laws that have been enacted since 2019 when the federal corruption probe that ultimately led to Madigan’s conviction first burst into public view. The Tribune also documented the deficiencies last year in its “Culture of Corruption” series.

In a joint statement Wednesday, a trio of advocacy groups gave House Democrats credit for “finally ousting Madigan when his indictment seemed inevitable” in 2021, but argued lawmakers haven’t done enough to fix the problems laid bare during the investigation and his trial.

“New faces have appeared in Springfield since 2021, and with this verdict, there are new opportunities for change,” Reform for Illinois, Common Cause Illinois and Change Illinois said in a joint statement. “We hope lawmakers will follow through on their promise to continue this work and begin rebuilding Illinoisans’ faith in their government. Failing to fix our broken system will just leave the door open for the next Madigan, continuing the cycle of corruption, scandal, and mistrust that plagues our state. Illinois deserves better.”

Among the Democrats who rallied to dethrone Madigan from his record-long 36-year run as speaker was state Rep. Kelly Cassidy of Chicago, who’d clashed publicly with the speaker since sexual harassment and bullying allegations against his lieutenants began surfacing in 2018.

It’s “critically important” for Illinois government that Madigan face “some measure of accountability for the decades of abuse of power and corruption,” Cassidy said in a statement.

“Particularly in a moment when our federal government has been subsumed by blatantly corrupt forces, we need our state government to be trustworthy to the public and focused on the will of the people, not self-interest,” Cassidy said. “This verdict will help move us toward that goal.”

Also among the 19 Democrats who blocked Madigan from reclaiming the gavel in 2021 was Rep. Ann Williams of Chicago, who made her own bid for speaker before ultimately backing Welch, who became the first Black representative to be named House speaker in Illinois.

“The historic election of Speaker Welch which followed has been transformative,” Williams said in a text message Wednesday. “As we enter Speaker Welch’s third term, it’s clear we have unequivocally moved away from the practices of the past, which put politics before people. It is time to put this chapter behind us as we face incredibly difficult challenges as a state and nation — challenges to our values and the very principles of democracy.

“It is critical the House be able to address these issues head on, without distraction, as a diverse but unified caucus,” Williams said.

Pat Brady, a former federal prosecutor who later served as chairman of the Illinois Republican Party from 2009 to 2013, described Madigan’s conviction as “the most significant corruption conviction in Illinois in recent history.”

Under his watch at the state GOP, Brady launched a “Fire Madigan” campaign at a time when many in the general public didn’t really know who Madigan was or appreciate the power he wielded in the state capitol.

“The finding of guilty reflected that Mike Madigan ran this state with an iron fist — not for the benefit of Illinois citizens but rather simply to keep himself in power,” he said. “The Madigan era was a horrible chapter in Illinois history and we should be grateful it’s over.”

Originally Published: February 12, 2025 at 2:59 PM CST