Down goes Mike

For a half-century former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan was the godfather of Illinois state “poli-tricks”, holding sway as the longest-serving legislative leader in U.S. history.

But on June 13, following a four-month trial, his reign and legacy ended in disgrace as he was sentenced to seven and a half years in federal prison and fined $2.5 million, in a highly publicized corruption case in which he used his official position to solicit money and favors and to enrich himself and his cronies.

Madigan was convicted on 10 of 23 counts of a corruption plot involving a conspiracy to solicit monetary payments from utility company Commonwealth Edison, for his associates, in the form of cushy “ghost jobs” requiring no legitimate work.

Additionally, Madigan plotted with a Chicago alderman, in a quid pro quo scheme, to steer legal work to Madigan’s law firm, in exchange for Madigan’s assistance in getting the official appointed to a compensated state board.

And, adding insult to injury, Madigan perjured himself repeatedly, during his trial, after foolishly deciding to “testi-lie” in his own behalf and showed no remorse during his pre-sentencing remarks.

However, U.S. District Judge John Blakey, before handing down his sentence, made a point to excoriate Madigan saying, in part, “He had no reason to commit these crimes…The defendant’s testimony was littered with obstruction of justice…To put it bluntly, it was a nauseating display…You lied, sir. You lied. You did not have to.”

So ends the career of Mike Madigan, who must report to prison on October 13. 

Yet, I suspect that no lesson will be learned by IL politicians, where corruption and politics have, historically, become synonyms.

After all, 4 of the last 10 governors of the state of IL were convicted felons, the last being Rod Blagojevich and, historically, former Chicago mayor William Hale Thompson was rumored to be on the payroll of the notorious gangster Al Capone.

Locally, former East St. Louis Mayor John T. Connors, grandfather of tennis star Jimmy Connors, was indicted for malfeasance in 1947 (ignoring evidence of illegal gambling and election irregularities) and was known to be a good friend to legendary East St. Louis mobster Frank “Buster” Wortman.

Unfortunately, in 2025, that legacy of political corruption, indictments, convictions and incarceration of political figures in East Boogie and St. Clair County has continued. 

And I suspect, the poli-tricks will continue as long as the newest political crooks on the block believe they are smarter than their predecessors, that the voters are dumber than they are and as long as there is a dollar to be pilfered, purloined and pocketed.

That’s the sad reality and the cynicism toward politicians, irrespective of party, makes it incumbent upon the voters to continue to take to the streets, town hall meetings, social media and other platforms, as we’re beginning to see, to express their outrage in what has flagrantly become a willingness among politicians to insult the intelligence, and brazenly violate the trust, of voters.

Mike Madigan may die in federal prison. He will be a frail 90-year-old man before he is eligible for parole. Yet, he got away with corruptly manipulating IL politics for 50 years before finally being caught and punished.

That must never happen again because, if it does, it isn’t the politician’s fault. In an information-driven age it will be the exclusive fault of the lethargic, apathetic voter.