Former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan Sentenced to Seven and a Half Years in Prison and Fined $2.5 Million in Corruption Case
On June 13, 2025, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Illinois, in Chicago, Cook County, Illinois, announced that former Illinois House Speaker Michael J. Madigan had been sentenced to seven and a half years in federal prison and fined $2.5 million on corruption charges.
Madigan, 83, of Chicago, long served as Speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives and in other political posts. In early 2025, after a four-month trial, a federal jury in Chicago convicted him of charges including conspiracy against the United States, using interstate facilities to advance unlawful activity, wire fraud and bribery. Trial evidence showed that Madigan conspired with others to have the utility Commonwealth Edison pay his associates for little or no actual work, in return for, and to influence, his actions on specific legislation the company sought in the state legislature.
Prosecutors also said Madigan conspired with a Chicago alderman: he helped press the governor to appoint the alderman to a paid state board position in exchange for the alderman steering legal business to Madigan's private law firm and his son.
U.S. District Judge John Robert Blakey imposed the 90-month sentence and the $2.5 million fine after finding that Madigan had repeatedly committed perjury while testifying. U.S. Attorney Andrew S. Boutros, FBI Chicago official Douglas S. DePodesta and IRS Criminal Investigation Chicago official Ramsey E. Covington commented on the sentence.
(Source: U.S. Department of Justice)
Source: U.S. Department of Justice
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：位于伊利诺伊州首府 Springfield 的伊利诺伊州议会大厦穹顶内景，Madigan 曾长期在此担任众议院议长。Daniel Schwen 摄，CC BY-SA 4.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: Inside the dome of the Illinois State Capitol in Springfield, Illinois, where Madigan long served as Speaker of the House. Photo by Daniel Schwen, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
