XPost: chi.politics, talk.politics.guns, sac.politics
XPost: alt.politics.democrats, alt.fan.rush-limbaugh

https://chicago.suntimes.com/politics/2025/06/13/mike-madigan-sentencing- hearing

Five months ago, the man long known to Illinois as “Mr. Speaker” made the stunning decision to climb onto the witness stand, swear an oath and tell
his side of the story.

But along the way, Michael J. Madigan denied his famous friendship with
the fixer known as Michael McClain. He denied a promise he made to the once-powerful Ald. Danny Solis. And he denied his role in a bribery scheme
in which Illinois’ largest utility tried to buy his favor.

It turns out, U.S. District Judge John Blakey didn’t buy his tale.

“To put it bluntly, it was a nauseating display,” the judge said during
the former speaker’s long-anticipated sentencing hearing Friday.

Then, the judge locked eyes with Madigan, the man once regarded as the
state’s most powerful politician. Blakey looked down at him from the bench
and said, “you lied, sir. You lied.”

“You did not have to,” Blakey continued. “You had a right to sit there and exercise your right to silence. But you took that stand and you took the
law into your own hands.”

Then, Blakey gave Madigan 7 ½ years in prison and a $2.5 million fine —
one of the harshest public corruption sentences Chicago has seen in years.
The Southwest Side Democrat who became the longest-serving state House
leader in the country is due in prison Oct. 13.

The sentence is more than triple that given last year to former Chicago
Ald. Edward M. Burke. It surpasses the 6 ½-year sentence handed in 2006 to ex-Gov. George Ryan. But it fell short of the 12 ½ years prosecutors
sought, or the 14 years once given to ex-Gov. Rod Blagojevich.

During Friday’s hearing, Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah Streicker explained
to the judge, “governors, they came and went over the years.

“But Madigan stayed,” she said, “His power and his presence remained
constant. He had every opportunity to set the standard for honest
government. But instead … he fit right into the mold of yet another
corrupt leader in Illinois.”

Madigan, 83, could be nearly 90 by the time he’s served his sentence. But
his fight for freedom clearly isn’t over. His attorneys told the judge
they hope to keep Madigan out of prison while he appeals his conviction.

Despite the hefty sentence, Madigan had a smile on his face as he walked
to an elevator near Blakey’s 12th-floor courtroom at the Dirksen Federal Courthouse. When he reached the lobby, he walked briskly past reporters, clutching an umbrella and briefcase as a daughter and lawyers walked by
his side.

The slight smile remained.

Another of Madigan’s daughters, former Illinois Attorney General Lisa
Madigan, was noticeably absent from the courthouse Friday afternoon.

It’s not clear what kind of sentence Blakey would have handed down had he
not concluded that Madigan lied on the witness stand. But it’s truly
remarkable that Madigan’s own words may have been his undoing.

Despite holding the title of “Mr. Speaker,” Madigan was famously guarded
and revealed few details of his personal life as he spent 36 years leading
the Illinois House of Representatives.

That is, until he took the witness stand in January.

When he did so, Blakey said Madigan lied to the jury. Repeatedly.

For example, a prosecutor asked Madigan, “you trusted McClain with
sensitive matters, didn’t you sir?” Madigan replied, “sometimes.”

A lie, Blakey said.

Madigan testified that, in 2018, he was “contemplating” whether to
recommend Solis for a paid seat on a government board to JB Pritzker,
Illinois’ future governor.

Another lie, the judge said. In exchange for that recommendation, Madigan
asked Solis for help securing business for Madigan’s private law firm.

Perhaps most notably, Blakey said Madigan lied when he denied his role in ComEd’s scheme to pay $1.3 million to five of Madigan’s allies, so that
Madigan would look more favorably at the utility’s legislation in
Springfield.

“This case is really sad,” Blakey said, “because the defendant is a
dedicated public servant — apart from the crimes proven in this case.”

The judge even invoked President Abraham Lincoln in his commentary Friday.

“It’s really hard to be Honest Abe, right?” Blakey said. “He was a unicorn
in our American history. Being great is hard. But being honest is not …
It’s hard to commit crimes. It actually takes effort.”

Blakey said he didn’t set out to hold Madigan responsible for all of the corruption in Illinois. He also said, “this sentence is not based on
rhetoric or myth. It’s not based on the myth of the Velvet Hammer or some folklore characterization of the Wizard of Springfield, Mike Madigan.

“That’s not reality.”

Madigan grew up in the tight-knit 13th Ward. He testified that his father
was a union man, involved in local politics, and an alcoholic. His father
also knew the legendary Mayor Richard J. Daley, and Madigan crossed paths
with Daley during an early job at City Hall.

The future speaker became a political disciple of Daley’s and was elected
to the Illinois House of Representatives in 1970. He ruled the chamber
from 1983 until 2021, with the exception of two years when Republicans
took control. He also became leader of the state’s Democratic Party.

Madigan also maintained a longtime friendship with McClain, a former state lawmaker who went on to become a lobbyist for ComEd. Multiple juries have
heard in recent years how McClain came to serve as Madigan’s messenger in Springfield.

It all came crashing down with an aggressive federal investigation into
public corruption that dates back to 2014, became public late in 2018,
slapped Madigan with the moniker of “Public Official A” in 2020, and led
to his indictment in 2022.

The Chicago Sun-Times revealed Solis’ role as an undercover mole in
January 2019. The former 25th Ward City Council member agreed to wear a
wire for the FBI, testified against Madigan and walked away from the investigation without even a criminal conviction.

That’s despite allegations of wrongdoing involving Viagra, massage parlors
and what he described as a suitcase full of “Chinese money.”

Meanwhile, the feds charged Madigan and McClain with a broad racketeering conspiracy. They accused the two men, in separate indictments, of the long-running bribery scheme involving ComEd. They also said the men
committed a series of crimes involving Solis.

After a four-month trial that featured more than 60 witnesses, a jury in February found Madigan guilty of the ComEd conspiracy, as well as the plot
to install Solis on a state board.

McClain was convicted for his role in the ComEd conspiracy in a separate
trial and faces sentencing July 24. Also set to be sentenced in the coming weeks are former ComEd CEO Anne Pramaggiore, ex-ComEd lobbyist John Hooker
and onetime City Club President Jay Doherty.

The jury in February returned no verdict on the racketeering conspiracy,
or the allegations involving McClain and Solis.

“Corruption at the highest level of the state legislature tears at the
fabric of a vital governing body,” interim U.S. Attorney Andrew Boutros
said in a written statement after Madigan’s sentencing. “It was the grit
and determination of our team of prosecutors and law enforcement agents …
that allowed this case to reach a jury and send a clear message that the criminal conduct by former Speaker Madigan was unacceptable.”

Taking the witness stand at trial is seen as risky for criminal
defendants. They can be accused of perjury if convicted — a reality
Madigan faced Friday.

But Madigan’s decision to take that risk may have been what distinguished
his case the most from Burke’s. U.S. District Judge Virginia Kendall, now
the city’s chief federal judge, handed Burke a two-year prison sentence
for racketeering one year ago.

Burke began serving his sentence in September and is due out in March.

Kendall relied heavily during Burke’s sentencing hearing on a pile of
letters documenting Burke’s good works over the years.

Madigan delivered his own batch of nearly 250 letters of support to
Blakey, along with a video plea from Madigan’s ailing wife. She told the
judge, “I really don’t exist without him” and said she’d need to find
someone to care for her if her husband went to prison.

Seeking a hefty 12 ½ year sentence for Madigan, Streicker told the judge
that “good deeds do not erase or diminish defendant’s criminal conduct.”
She said Madigan’s record as a public servant didn’t always cut in his
favor, especially when it came to how he used his “immense political
power.

“There were times when he used it for good,” the prosecutor acknowledged.
“But it was a double-edged sword that the defendant also used to benefit himself and act in his own self-interest.”

Streicker told the judge that “the public is paying attention,” and “the message needs to be clear that corruption of public office will be met
with a stiff sentence.”

Moments later, Madigan attorney Dan Collins asked Blakey for mercy. He
told the judge that fellow attorneys had sent him “a lot of quotes” —
including Bible verses and mission statements.

But, returning to a theme from Madigan’s trial, Collins told the judge
that “today shouldn’t be about rhetoric.

“It should be about reality,” Collins said. “It should be about the
reality of Mike.”

The attorney insisted that Madigan “did not live his life to seek power.
He tried to lead his party.”

“I’m proud to call him a friend,” Collins said. “I’m honored to be his
friend.”

After Collins finished, Blakey asked Madigan whether he wanted to speak. Collins asked the judge for a short break, and Blakey left the bench.
Then, when he returned, the judge again asked Madigan whether he had
anything to say.

Madigan took a long sip of water, and he approached a courtroom podium —
just as he has done for so many years when preparing to discuss a piece of legislation.

The former speaker told the judge, “I’m truly sorry for putting the people
of the state of Illinois through this.

“I tried to do my best to serve the people of the state of Illinois,” he
said. “I am not perfect.”

Madigan asked the judge to let him care for his wife. He also said, “I ask
that you let me spend my final days with my family.”

But earlier in the hearing, Madigan’s attorneys told the judge he still
insists upon his innocence.

And in the end, Madigan took no responsibility for his crimes.


--
November 5, 2024 - Congratulations President Donald Trump. We look
forward to America being great again.

We live in a time where intelligent people are being silenced so that
stupid people won't be offended.

Every day is an IQ test. Some pass, some, not so much.

Thank you for cleaning up the disasters of the 2008-2017, 2020-2024 Obama
/ Biden / Harris fiascos, President Trump.

Under Barack Obama's leadership, the United States of America became the
The World According To Garp. Obama sold out heterosexuals for Hollywood
queer liberal democrat donors.

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)