It Finally Happened: Mike Madigan Indicted On Corruption Charges
CHICAGO — Former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan has been indicted by federal prosecutors for his alleged role in a racketeering conspiracy linked to lobbying practices during his time in politics.
Madigan, 79, is is charged with 22 counts, according to the indictment. Federal prosecutors allege Madigan was essentially the leader of a group that engaged in criminal conduct for his benefit. They call it the “Madigan Enterprise.”
He resigned from political life one year ago as federal investigators focused their inquiries on the Democrat’s allies and their lucrative lobbying practices. In 2020, prosecutors revealed a plea agreement with utility giant ComEd, in which the company admitted to courting Madigan’s favor by sending jobs and contracts to his cronies.
And there it is. The official end of the run for Mike Madigan, the slickest, the slimiest, most corrupt politician this state has ever known (which is saying something) has finally been indicted on corruption charges. It was an open secret forever that Madigan was corrupt. He is a huge reason why Illinois has the reputation it does. A guy who probably helped steal Illinois for Kennedy in 1960 and never stopped. Incredible that he made it until 79 years old before having to face any charges, but time is undefeated. I think a good indication that a guy is corrupt is that he never wants to move up in the political landscape. This guy was elected to his seat in 1982 and never left because the getting was good. You run for higher office and people start poking around. You stay in power and your power only grows and it is unopposed. Well, at least for 40 years. This guy was a king-maker in the state. You had to kiss the ring and then slip him an envelope. He was a mafia don with a better title. Seemingly everyone knew, everyone disliked him, and yet...nobody ever stood up to him or voted against him. Our long state nightmare is over. Illinois government is totally on the up and up now. Yep, no more corruption at all. Onward and upward. Illinois is back.
Madigan, just flew too close to the sun with ComEd. ComEd fucks everyone over at some point and it finally caught up to Madigan
The centerpiece of ComEd's corrupt lobbying practices is the manner in which it lavished contracts and subcontracts on Madigan's supporters, dating all the way back to 2011 and lasting through 2019. The feds say that Madigan allies benefiting from ComEd's largesse typically did little to no work for the power company. Besides the lure of contracts, ComEd, with its 6,000-person payroll, offered up jobs for those favored by Madigan.
That corporate generosity came at the same time the state-regulated utility scored big legislative wins in Springfield that required the speaker's blessing, including legislation that benefited ComEd to the tune of more than $150 million, according to the agreement.
In 2016 alone, the Madigan-led House allowed ComEd's corporate parent, Exelon, to hit ComEd ratepayers with as much as a $2.3 billion, 10-year rate increase to subsidize two of Exelon's financially flagging nuclear plants.
Multiple times, the federal filing said, ComEd took steps to benefit Madigan. That included paying an unnamed "Consultant 1," who then passed the money to Madigan's associates who were subcontractors – an arrangement that evaded public disclosure.