Crime & Law

Federal Prosecutors No Longer Seeking $3.1M Forfeiture From Convicted Ex-Speaker Michael Madigan

Federal prosecutors are no longer seeking to recoup some $3 million from Michael Madigan, more than two months after the former Illinois House speaker was convicted of bribery and conspiracy charges in his landmark trial.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois late last week filed a motion informing U.S. District Judge John Blakey that it will not move forward with a planned forfeiture trial following the speaker’s conviction in February.

“The government continues to stand on the legal arguments and positions set forth in its forfeiture brief,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah Streicker wrote in the Friday motion. “However, as a matter of discretion, the government has decided to no longer seek a forfeiture judgment in this case.”

Streicker said that decision was made “independent from any other issue or briefing in this matter.”

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 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.

The announcement comes less than a month after the feds published a separate motion outlining why Madigan should be ordered to forfeit $3,140,688.13 following his convictions.

Blakey initially intended to hold Madigan’s forfeiture trial immediately following any guilty verdict, but he eventually opted to delay those proceedings to allow prosecutors and defense attorneys to file briefs outlining their cases.

That separate trial, which had been scheduled for May, would have seen prosecutors argue that Madigan should be forced to pay back proceeds derived from the corruption schemes he was convicted of — even if the ex-speaker himself wasn’t the recipient of those funds.

For instance, prosecutors claimed ComEd paid out a total of $1,302,750 to Madigan’s allies as part of those schemes. That total was included in the $3.1 million the government claimed Madigan owed.

Prosecutors said Friday they informed Madigan’s legal team of their decision. The former speaker is scheduled to be sentenced June 13.

Note: This story was updated to correct the date of sentencing. 

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