Madigan sentencing set for Friday

CHICAGO – Sentencing for former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan is scheduled for Friday, after a judge denied Madigan’s motion for a new trial.

Judge John Robert “Jack” Blakey made the ruling Monday afternoon at the Everett McKinley Dirksen U.S. Courthouse in Chicago.

A jury convicted Madigan Feb. 12 on 10 counts of bribery, conspiracy, wire fraud and use of a facility to promote unlawful activity. Prosecutors have recommended that Madigan serve 12.5 years in prison and pay a fine of $1.5 million. Defense attorneys have asked that the former speaker be sentenced to a year of home confinement along with probation and community service.

On Monday, attorneys briefly discussed issues related to ComEd valuation estimates in the wake of Madigan’s actions on behalf of the utility company. At the end of last week, Blakey scheduled an additional hearing to clarify the issue on Tuesday morning.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah Streicker said the government had a sworn declaration from ComEd executive Scott Vogt that projected valuations related to increases in shareholder value involved “net values, not gross.”

Madigan defense attorney Dan Collins opposed the declaration’s inclusion for the judge to consider in sentencing.

“We’re past the point at which the government was to meet its burden,” Collins said, adding that he was concerned about the defense team having enough time to fairly review the information.

Collins argued that the concept of shareholder value was not appropriate because it takes into account a host of related issues.

“This is not new information,” Streicker responded, saying that Vogt was simply confirming that his testimony during trial was related to net values.

“It’s entirely consistent with what’s in the government’s version,” Streicker said.

“This was not a topic at trial,” Collins said, adding that he did not believe tying shareholder value to specific conduct in Madigan’s case was appropriate.

Madigan was convicted on four counts related to ComEd after prosecutors alleged that the utility gave no-work or little-work jobs and contract work to Madigan’s allies in exchange for the passage of state legislation to benefit ComEd.

Four ComEd executives and lobbyists were convicted in the related ComEd Four trial in 2023. ComEd agreed to pay $200 million in fines as part of a deferred prosecution agreement.

During the recent Illinois legislative session, state Rep. Patrick Windhorst, R-Metropolis, said Madigan was the driving force in state government.

“He served as the chairman of the Democratic Party of Illinois. He pulled all the strings. He even helped elect many of the members of the House of Representatives that are serving today,” Windhorst said.

Windhorst said Democrats have rejected Republican proposals for ethics reform.”

“Some of the folks on the other side of the aisle serving in the General Assembly voted for former Speaker Madigan to serve as House speaker on multiple occasions,” Windhorst said.

As the former boss of the Illinois House faces sentencing, the current president of the Illinois Senate is dealing with questions about campaign donations.

At a recent event in West Chicago, Gov. J.B. Pritzker was asked about the General Assembly failing to advance stronger ethics laws while Illinois Senate President Don Harmon, D-Oak Park, faces sanctions from the state elections board.

“Virtually every year I’ve been office, we have expanded our ethics legislation, our ethics laws. I know that the Senate president doesn’t have any intention other than to make the law better,” Pritzker said last week.

Harmon challenged the Illinois State Board of Elections’ claim that his campaign committee accepted $4 million more than permitted under state law.

Windhorst said Republicans are still waiting for the state’s Democrats to act.

“When Democratic politicians were arrested, indicted, charged, convicted and incarcerated, we’ve waited for action. We’ve been disappointed time after time,” Windhorst said.

Before Monday’s hearing concluded, Collins told Blakey that Madigan’s team filed a motion “about an hour ago” on the government’s filing on Friday. Streicker said the government opposed the motion but would advise the court if their position changed.

Collins said Madigan’s $40 million net worth should not be a consideration.

“Mr. Madigan’s net worth has nothing to do with this case,” Collins argued.

When Blakey began to question him, Collins clarified that his statement regarded Madigan’s potential sentence and not his potential fine.