Michael Madigan

The longtime Illinois House Speaker was sentenced this month to federal prison.

Michael Madigan, the country’s longest-serving state House leader, served as speaker of the Illinois House from 1983 until 2021, with the exception of two years. Along the way, he developed a reputation as an all-powerful political wizard who wielded vast influence over laws affecting nearly every aspect of life in the state.

Madigan was the longest-serving state House leader in U.S. history, spending 36 years as speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives. Prosecutors want a judge to give him 12 ½ years in prison.

Madigan is scheduled to be sentenced Friday.

Ex-Speaker Madigan’s sentencing is on track for June 13 after final arguments

A judge also denied Madigan’s bid for a new trial, bringing the once-powerful Democrat ever closer to his sentencing Friday.

‘This decision is independent from any other issue or briefing in this matter,’ a prosecutor told the judge. Madigan’s sentencing is set for June 13.

The decade-long FBI investigation that led to Madigan’s trial roiled local politics and changed the course of Illinois history. The feds summoned 50 witnesses to a 12th-floor courtroom in their bid to prove Madigan and Michael McClain guilty of “corruption at the highest levels of state government.”

Deliberations begin after 3 months of testimony and week-long closing arguments

Feds claim ex-speaker ‘controlled’ his allies’ contracts with ComEd, contrary to his testimony