Former Democratic House Speaker Michael Madigan’s federal corruption conviction drew plaudits from suburban lawmakers and prompted calls to strengthen weak state ethics laws that have contributed to Illinois’ long history of public corruption.
Madigan’s conviction on Feb. 12 represented a monumental fall from grace for the once-mighty state Democratic Party chairman who set a national record for serving 36 years as speaker.
Following the verdict, House Majority Leader Robyn Gabel, D-Evanston, said she “felt vindicated.”
“There were secrets Madigan hid from us (his colleagues) that he was doing, and we didn’t know about,” said Gabel, who along with 18 other House Democrats refused to support Madigan for a new two-year term as speaker in January 2021. At that time, federal authorities had identified Madigan as “Public Official A” in the burgeoning Commonwealth Edison bribery scandal that eventually led to his indictment in March 2022 and his conviction last week.
“When some of those things came to light, it was clear to me we no longer wanted him to lead us,” Gabel said.
Of the 23 charges filed against Madigan, the former speaker was convicted of 10, including bribery, wire fraud and conspiracy. Jurors found Madigan guilty of placing pals into no-work or little-work jobs at ComEd while the utility was wooing him to pass legislation that helped the company’s bottom line and in a plot to install former 25th Ward Ald. Danny Solis, a government mole, into a highly paid state board post as the two searched to bring business to Madigan’s already successful law firm.
The Tribune last year documented Illinois’ porous ethics laws in its 10-part series “Culture of Corruption.” The series showed that state laws are riddled with loopholes that protect politicians and give elected officials latitude that allows them to circumvent campaign finance restrictions, become lobbyists soon after leaving public office and weaken the rules that govern internal watchdogs. Illinois lawmakers also have prohibited state and local law enforcement from wiretapping the phones of politicians suspected of corruption, as federal investigators are allowed to do. In the Madigan trial, key pieces of evidence came from federal wiretaps.
Now a senator, Laura Fine, a Democrat from Glenview, served in the House under Madigan from 2013 to 2019.
“There are so many of us who are doing this job for all of the right reasons, and it is very frustrating when somebody is in it for themselves and not for the greater good,” she said. “It makes our job that much harder, which is unfortunate.”
Former Sen. Susan Garrett, a Lake County Democrat who served more than a decade in the House, recalled that “Mike Madigan had an insatiable desire for power and control” and later assumed “more power than any politician in Illinois history.”
“Ironically, his quest to keep that power turned out to be his tragic flaw,” she said.
While Madigan was convicted on 10 of the bribery-related charges and found not guilty on others, the jury deadlocked on several counts, including the marquee racketeering charge. That did not surprise Gabel.
“I thought racketeering is another whole level,” Gabel said. “The RICO laws from my understanding are more complicated.”
State Rep. Marty McLaughlin, a Republican from Barrington, did not serve in the House when Madigan was speaker but was interested enough in the case that he attended one day of Madigan’s trial.
“It was eye-opening to be at the trial, and it was disappointing to hear some of the testimony,” he said.
“As a legislator, we should be spending more time on solving problems and less time on backroom deals and phone calls and helping friends out,” he said. “We are supposed to be helping out constituents in the state. We are not supposed to be helping out specific people for inappropriate reasons.”
Acknowledging the complex nature of racketeering, McLaughlin said it made sense that the racketeering charge, which alleged Madigan was running a criminal enterprise, “would be difficult to wrap your head around. I have some sympathy for those jurors who were going through the process.”
With Madigan’s conviction, some lawmakers hoped efforts would be made to rein in corruption.
“It has to lead to change. This can’t keep happening,” Fine said. “My guess is we are going to look into this and dig deep and figure out what other states are doing to prevent this type of behavior from happening and how can we make sure we put that in place in Illinois.”
McLaughlin called for new ethics laws with “some teeth.”
“I would love to see stronger rules about separation of authorities amongst not only legislators but those who are lobbyists and consultants,” he said. “You have your institutionalized Springfield politicians who only do stuff in the traditional way and I actually think it is time to get away from the traditional way because the traditions of Illinois have been nothing but corruption and failure for the taxpayers and businesses of the state.”
State Sen. Julie Morrison, a Democrat from Lake Forest, said work has already started in reforming laws, saying an ethics package passed in Springfield in recent years was a “really good step in the right direction.”
Gabel added the state does not need to start all over again in light of the Madigan verdict.
“It is not like we didn’t have laws,” Gabel said. “He broke the laws.”
Gabel added the legislature has now enacted term limits on legislative leaders and appointed a new legislative inspector general.
Still, she thought the House’s Ethics Committee might look to make other changes.
“We will be looking to see if there are other things we can do to deal with this issue,” Gabel said.
Chicago Tribune’s Ray Long contributed. Daniel I. Dorfman is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
