Federal appeals court upholds conviction of ex-Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan

The federal appeals court in Chicago on Monday upheld the historic conviction of former Illinois House Speaker Michael J. Madigan, finding no error in the four-month trial that ultimately led to his lengthy prison sentence.

“Michael Madigan spent nearly a decade leveraging his power as one of the highest-ranking public officials in Illinois in exchange for over $3 million of financial benefits for his close political allies,” a three-judge appeals panel concluded. “… Madigan insists that this was run-of-the-mill politics. But a jury of twelve Illinois residents saw the evidence differently. So do we.”

A federal jury in February 2025 convicted Madigan of a bribery conspiracy, wire fraud and other crimes. U.S. District Judge John Blakey handed Madigan a 7 ½-year prison sentence four months later, finding that Madigan lied to the jury.

Madigan then surrendered to a minimum-security prison camp in West Virginia the following October, capping a massive federal corruption probe that dated all the way back to 2014.

Madigan’s conviction centered on two schemes. In one, ComEd paid five Madigan allies $1.3 million over eight years so Madigan would look more favorably at the utility’s legislation. The money was funneled through third-party firms, and the recipients did hardly any work for ComEd.

The other involved a deal to have then-Chicago Alderman Danny Solis installed on a state board in exchange for Solis’ help landing private business for Madigan’s tax appeal law firm.

To read the full report, visit chicago.suntimes.com.