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Michael Madigan’s remarkable political fall concluded on Friday when he received a 7 1/2-year prison sentence along with a $2.5 million fine. The former Illinois House speaker, who was the longest-tenured legislative leader in the U.S., faced these penalties after being found guilty of exchanging legislative favors for the financial benefit of his friends and associates.
U.S. District Judge John Robert Blakey sentenced the 83-year-old in U.S. District Court in Chicago.
Known as the “Velvet Hammer” for his subtle yet firm approach, Madigan was found guilty on 10 out of 23 counts in an extraordinary corruption trial that spanned four months. The trial involved 60 witnesses and included a vast array of documents, photographs, and recorded conversations.
The jury deadlocked on six counts, including an overarching racketeering conspiracy charge, and acquitted him on seven others.
Madigan spoke briefly before sentencing, asking to avoid prison so he could care for his wife and spend his final years with his family.
“I am deeply remorseful for the strain I’ve caused the people of Illinois,” Madigan stated. “My intention was always to serve the residents of Illinois to the best of my ability. I am not without flaws.”
Former Illinois Speaker of the House Michael Madigan, flanked by daughters Nicole, left, and Tiffany, leaves the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse after jurors found him guilty on 10 counts in his racketeering case, Feb. 12, 2025. (E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
During a three-and-a-half-hour hearing, Blakey noted the numerous letters sent to the court supporting Madigan. The judge said Madigan was a good family man and a kind man, helping his neighbors without pause.
But he said, “Being great is hard. Being honest is not. It’s hard to commit crimes. It actually takes effort.”
Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah Streicker hammered home the fact that Madigan has not taken responsibility for the crimes or shown any remorse.
Illinois State Representative Michael Madigan addresses state representatives after he was re-elected as Speaker of the House at the University of Illinois campus in Springfield, Illinois, on January 11, 2017. (REUTERS/Joshua Lott)
Streicker noted that Madigan, having served as speaker through seven governors, “had every opportunity to set the standard for honest government.” Instead, she said, “he fit right into the mold of yet another corrupt leader in Illinois.”
Defense lawyers had called the government’s recommended sentence “Draconian” and, given Madigan’s age, a life sentence.
“He did not seek to be greedy. He lived a very frugal life …,” Madigan attorney Dan Collins said. “The rhetoric wants to make Mike responsible for the long history of corruption in Illinois. He is not, Judge. He is one man.”
They asked Blakey to consider the totality of Madigan’s life and work and the need to care for his wife in requesting a sentence of five years’ probation, with one year of home confinement, a requirement to perform community service and a “reasonable fine.”
In a video submitted to the court, Shirley Madigan said she needed her husband to come home.
“I really don’t exist without him,” she said. “I wish I could say that I do, but I don’t know what I would do without Michael. I would probably have to find someplace to live, and I’d probably have to find care.”
Tried alongside Madigan was his former legislative colleague and longtime confidant, Michael McClain. The jury couldn’t reach a decision on any of the six counts against McClain. He was convicted, though, in a separate trial over the ComEd conspiracy last year.
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