Daily Herald opinion: Madigan conviction underscores the need for meaningful ethics reform

The timeline tracking Illinois’ shameful history of political corruption added two notable notches this week.

First, on Monday, the only Illinois governor officially booted from office by the General Assembly received a presidential pardon despite federal convictions involving attempts to sell a senate seat and shake down a hospital.

Less than 48 hours later, a jury convicted the state’s former House speaker — the longest-serving legislative leader in U.S. history — of bribery, fraud and other charges following a four-month trial that laid bare the ways power can be wielded for personal gain.

President Donald Trump’s pardon of former Gov. Rod Blagojevich glazed over his corruption convictions, sending a dangerous message that bonding over a reality show and playing the victim — despite all evidence to the contrary — are enough for a fresh start.

Michael J. Madigan, meanwhile, is finally answering for his crimes.

The jury Wednesday convicted the longtime Democratic power broker of 10 counts in his corruption trial and acquitted him on seven, leaving six counts — including racketeering — without a verdict.

Will prosecutors retry Madigan on the remaining counts? That’s one of the questions still to be answered.

The other: Will the former speaker join a long list of past Illinois politicians in serving time behind bars?

From the start, Madigan denied wrongdoing and, when he took the stand in his own defense, portrayed himself as someone willing to help others.

But “help,” in Madigan’s world, came at a price. Among the many schemes detailed in his trial, he was accused of using his position to pass legislation favorable to utility companies that, in return, rewarded Madigan’s cronies with kickbacks and no-work contracts.

Madigan’s influence was legendary in Illinois, and made him a pariah to many even beyond the charges that landed him in court. He was long the state’s political boss, nicknamed the “Velvet Hammer.” He used his power to bury legislation, dole out coveted campaign funds and create a legislative map that tilted heavily in his party’s favor and protected his reign.

Madigan, now 82, was first elected in 1970. The Chicagoan ruled as House speaker from 1983 to 2021, save for two years when Republicans managed to wrest control from the Democrats. His last stretch in office was marked by his cavalier mishandling of a sexual harassment claim and emerging allegations about his part in the ComEd bribery scandal. He dropped out of the speaker’s race when it became apparent that enough lawmakers were willing to stand up to the all-mighty Madigan, and he resigned his seat not long after.

When Madigan was indicted in 2022, our editorial quoted John Shaw, director of the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale. His words resonated with us then. And they resonate with us today.

“If you read the indictment,” Shaw said, “it's not just an indictment of Madigan. It's almost an indictment of the whole political system in Illinois.”

Blagojevich and Madigan were the most public faces of Illinois corruption in recent years, but they are hardly the only ones.

On Wednesday, a number of Illinois politicians released expertly crafted statements expressing dismay over the actions of these once-powerful men.

Their words, while eloquent, are simply not enough. They must act.

Illinois’ 2021 ethics reform package was hailed as a step in the right direction. Yet no meaningful progress has been made since.

And on the federal level, Trump's attempts to eliminate inspectors general and ethics safeguards are cause for national alarm.

Blagojevich and Madigan earned their berths in Illinois’ political house of shame. Lawmakers have a responsibility to prevent others from following in their footsteps.