Can the trial of former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan end the state’s wretched corruption curse?
This is Illinois, but one can always hope.
Jury selection has kicked off for what may be the most consequential trial in Illinois political history. Madigan, the longest-serving, once all-powerful and universally feared House speaker, now sits in the defendant’s chair, accused of federal racketeering. In March 2022, a federal grand jury handed down searing charges in what has been called the “Madigan Enterprise.” The 23-count indictment charged him with racketeering, conspiracy and using interstate facilities in aid of bribery, wire fraud and attempted extortion.
Federal prosecutors allege he took advantage of his clout as speaker and chair of the Democratic Party of Illinois to illicitly win legal work for his private law firm. The “enterprise” was designed to enhance “his political power and financial well-being while also generating income for his political allies and associates,” according to prosecutors. Madigan’s defense attorneys have countered that their client “vehemently rejects the notion that he was involved in criminal activity — before, during or after his long career as a public servant.”
Now, once again, voters across Illinois will hear sordid evidence that yet another high-ranking “public servant” who, fueled by avarice and hubris, allegedly betrayed the public for his personal and political enrichment.
Could a Madigan conviction be the final domino in the massive pile of public officials who have ended up in prison cells? Perhaps the downfall of the most powerful elected official in Illinois history will get the message across to his wayward colleagues and convince them, once and for all, that their duty is to serve, not to steal.
Illinois history does not appear to bear this out.
Researchers at the University of Illinois Chicago have been on the corruption watch for years, tracking the federal convictions of elected and appointed government officials.
Their most recent report found that in 2021, Chicago was America’s most corrupt city for the fourth year in a row. The study, released last year, reported that the Northern District of Illinois, the federal region that includes Chicago and its suburbs, was the most corrupt metropolitan area in the nation in 2020. And Illinois was pegged as the third most corrupt state in the nation on a per-capita basis.
The researchers analyzed public corruption statistics from the U.S. Department of Justice.
“Political and government-related bribery, extortion, fraud, conflicts of interest, theft of campaign funds and tax cheating continue to undermine the public’s trust in government,” said Marco Rosaire Rossi, a co-author of the UIC report.
Our culture of corruption: Read the series on Illinois’ notorious political legacy
Illinois is under a corruption curse. Corruption is in our water and the air. In Chicago and Illinois, the prevailing query among too many government officials is: “Where’s mine?”
No matter how powerful, they fall like dominos in the hands of federal prosecutors. Four Illinois governors have been convicted of crimes, along with dozens of other elected and appointed officials.
We are a free-wheeling state, with weak campaign finance and ethics laws. People and companies that want to do business with government have ferreted out plenty of loopholes to get what they want from politicians. Too many politicians are eager to comply.
So what else is new, you say? Few of us raise an eyebrow about the corruption. We are surprised only when the powerful get caught.
Like Madigan.
Madigan was the longest-serving House speaker in the history of Illinois. He wielded absolute power and was feared by all.
Madigan was legendary for his discipline and known for his secretive ways, avoiding use of a cellphone.
He enjoyed total dominance over the legislative process, exercising tight control of the needs and wants of every legislator, lobbyists and political peers. His old-school Democratic Party machine provided a reliable infrastructure to support patronage jobs, contracts, backroom deals and political contributions.
Many political insiders and observers thought Madigan would reign forever. He seemed to possess the magic stay-out-of-jail-free card.
Until now.
The trial at the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse is expected to take up to three months. The state’s political classes will be riveted the entire time.
A conviction of Madigan could be the final domino that topples the vestiges of that machine and the corruptions it has spawned for decades and send the final message to would-be crooked politicians everywhere.
If the Big Domino goes down, Illinois politicians might finally go straight.
Laura Washington is a political commentator and longtime Chicago journalist. Her columns appear in the Tribune each Wednesday. Write to her at LauraLauraWashington@gmail.com.
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