Politics

Following Corruption Conviction, Michael Madigan’s Pension Gets Suspended

Michael Madigan’s pension has been suspended following his conviction on federal corruption charges.

The General Assembly Retirement System of Illinois (GARS) sent the former Illinois Speaker of the House notice by mail Thursday, according to the State Retirement Systems.

The suspension comes days after Madigan, 82, was convicted on 10 felony counts of bribery, conspiracy and wire fraud in his landmark corruption trial.

Madigan, who was tried alongside his longtime confidant Michael McClain, was accused of orchestrating five separate corruption schemes in which he sought to use his immense political power to enrich himself and his allies.

A jury of eight women and four men found the former speaker guilty Wednesday on charges related to two of those schemes following a four-month trial at the Dirksen Federal Building in downtown Chicago.

In one of those schemes, utility giant Commonwealth Edison hired Madigan allies to no-work jobs in an attempt to win the speaker’s support on critical energy legislation. In the other, Madigan worked to secure a valuable state board position for then-Chicago Ald. Danny Solis in exchange for Solis steering business to Madigan’s private tax law firm.

The speaker was also acquitted on seven other counts, while the 12-person jury deadlocked on six more charges, including the top count of racketeering conspiracy. The jury also failed to reach a verdict on any of the six charges McClain faced, though he and three others were previously convicted of conspiring to bribe Madigan in the “ComEd Four” trial.

Madigan’s sentencing date has not yet been scheduled, but he faces up to 20 years in prison on his wire fraud convictions. The conspiracy and bribery charges also carry possible sentences of up to 5 and 10 years, respectively.

Following his criminal convictions, Madigan will also now face a forfeiture trial in which he could be forced to pay a significant amount in penalties related to the bribery schemes. That trial is scheduled for May 5.

Madigan's attorneys did not respond to a request for comment.

Madigan was estimated to receive $158,026.68 per year, according to records from GARS. Over his more than half century of service, Madigan contributed more than $350,000 to the fund, records show.

Since his retirement in 2021, Madigan has collected $521,220.12, records show.

GARS policy requires staff to request an opinion from the Office of the Attorney General on whether a member’s conviction requires the forfeiture of their pension.

“Illinois courts have held that the conviction of a felony occurs on the date in which a court enters judgment and imposes a sentence on the conviction,” the AG’s office said in an email. “It is our office’s longstanding policy not to issue opinions on the felony forfeiture of pension benefits until after sentencing has occurred.”

The suspension will remain in effect until the board receives and considers the opinion, and if the AG determines the benefit must be terminated, nothing further will be paid, State Retirement Systems assistant executive secretary Jeff Houch said.

This is the most poorly funded state pension in the system, according to the latest report from Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability, a bipartisan research and information body for the General Assembly.

The most recent GARS annual financial report showed the funding ratio for the pension was 24.2%, and the liability exceeded the net position of the fund by more than $280 million. 

 

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