From The Center Square:
Ex-Speaker Madigan’s net worth stricken, GOP leader questions use of campaign funds
By Jim Talamonti | The Center Square
(The Center Square) – As former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan’s sentencing date approaches, a federal judge ruled to strike Madigan’s net worth from the public record.
U.S. District Court Judge John Robert “Jack” Blakey ruled Tuesday in favor of a defense motion to seal Madigan’s net worth, previously reported to be around $40 million, from the public record but not from the court.
The judge said the common practice would have been that it should be under seal and said he understood his ruling was largely a symbolic measure.
During arguments at the Everett McKinley Dirksen U.S. Courthouse in Chicago Tuesday morning, Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah Streicker cited previous cases and said the defendant’s net worth is relevant based on three factors: the court’s consideration of a fine, the government’s rebuttal of the defendant’s claim that his motivation was “purely altruistic,” and aggravating circumstance, when the defendant doesn’t need to turn to bribery and fraud but did so out of greed.
During arguments at the Everett McKinley Dirksen U.S. Courthouse in Chicago Tuesday morning, Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah Streicker cited previous cases and said the defendant’s net worth is relevant based on three factors: the court’s consideration of a fine, the government’s rebuttal of the defendant’s claim that his motivation was “purely altruistic,” and aggravating circumstance, when the defendant doesn’t need to turn to bribery and fraud but did so out of greed.
Madigan defense attorney Dan Collins said Madigan’s net worth has no tie to the offense whatsoever and should be stricken.
“This was nothing more, nothing more than a gratuitous effort to identify Mr. Madigan’s net worth,” Collins said.
Blakey said the exact net worth was not part of the trial, although the fact that the defendant made over a million dollars a year over the course of years in his career was part of the case.
Blakey said, at a minimum, Madigan’s net worth is relevant to the potential fine the former speaker is facing.
Illinois House Minority Leader Tony McCombie, R-Savanna, said the court would do well to deny Madigan leniency.
“I don’t care if his net worth was $2.5 million. The years of cost to citizens, you can’t put a number on that,” McCombie told The Center Square.
During Tuesday’s hearing, Blakey suggested that he would ask Madigan a couple of questions before the parties argued over valuation.
Although the judge said he was not making any determinations, he told Madigan, “This is the beginning of sentencing,” and explained that Madigan would be making statements under oath.
He also told Madigan he spent time reading more than 200 letters written on the former speaker’s behalf.
“That was my entire weekend, going through some really kind words that were said,” Blakey told Madigan.
The judge asked the ex-speaker if he’d had enough time to review pre-sentencing documents and if he was satisfied with his legal representation.
“Yes,” Madigan replied to both questions.
Prosecutors and defense attorneys then argued over the value of benefits to ComEd through Madigan’s bribery actions.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Julia Schwartz said the value to ComEd exceeded the $150 million ComEd admitted to in its deferred prosecution agreement with the government.
Schwartz said sworn testimonies by former ComEd executive Scott Vogt indicated $400 million of projected value over five years and $750 million over more than a decade.
“We have to calculate the guideline correctly in the first instance,” Blakey told Schwartz.
Collins objected that the government changed its calculation three days before sentencing. He also said Vogt admitted during testimony that the $400 million figure was wrong and said the court should not accept that number.
“The government never really did any analysis to determine the benefit of the bribe,” Collins argued.
Schwartz said Collins’ numbers focused on “after-the-fact” values instead of the expected values when the defendants’ actions were taking place. She also said Vogt’s numbers were reliable enough for the judge to make a preponderance finding on.
“We’re asking the court to adopt the $2.5 million as the maximum statutory fine,” Schwartz said.
Government attorneys previously sought $3.1 million from Madigan in a forfeiture judgment before dropping the request in late April. Then, in a pre-sentencing motion, prosecutors requested a $1.5 million fine.
McCombie noted that Madigan had no shortage of funds and said she proposed a bill to prevent campaign dollars from being used for legal defense.
“I have that bill … stating that we shouldn’t be using our campaign dollars for legal defense, and I’m sure there’s still quite a bit of money left in that, I don’t think, $2.5 million for almost 50 years of unethical and proven, on 10 counts or corruption,” McCombie said.
McCombie said Madigan’s behavior is not new in Illinois politics.
“Illinois is certainly in the forefront, one of the winners. This isn’t where we want to be winning. We’d rather be winning on our economy, not on unethical behavior,” McCombie said.
House Bill 1554 and several other ethics measures failed to advance in the state legislature this spring.
Madigan’s sentencing is scheduled Friday at the Everett McKinley Dirksen U.S. Courthouse in Chicago. Blakey said he expected to rule on sentencing guidelines Friday afternoon and said he expected a full schedule that day.
A jury convicted Madigan Feb. 12 on 10 counts of bribery, conspiracy, wire fraud and use of a facility to promote unlawful activity.
Madigan’s codefendant, former Illinois state representative and lobbyist Michael McClain, was not found guilty in the Madigan case. In 2023, McClain and three others were convicted in the related ComEd Four trial, and ComEd agreed to pay $200 million in fines as part of a deferred prosecution agreement.
McClain’s ComEd Four sentencing is scheduled for July 24.
Madigan served in the Illinois House from 1971 to 2021 and was speaker for all but two years between 1983 and 2021. He chaired the Democratic Party of Illinois for 23 years.
