Madigan’s next option the U.S. Supreme Court

By Jim Talamonti | The Center Square
The Center Square

(The Center Square) – A defense attorney says a U.S. Supreme Court review is the next step for Michael Madigan, after an appeals court upheld the former Illinois House speaker’s corruption conviction.

Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals Judges Frank Easterbrook, Michael Scudder and Nancy Maldonado ruled Monday to affirm a district court decision in February 2025, when a jury found Madigan guilty on 10 counts of public corruption.

The appellate court’s statement said the judges saw no prejudicial error in the district court’s jury instructions, after Madigan’s defense team argued that there were errors.

The Seventh Circuit agreed with the jury’s decision that Madigan’s leveraging of power for over $3 million in benefits for his allies did not constitute run-of-the-mill politics.

“The linkage was clear and far from fleeting. He repeatedly facilitated changes to state law impacting countless energy consumers in northern Illinois, all because ComEd funneled money to the right people,” the judges said.

Darryl A. Goldberg, a criminal defense lawyer with a practice focused on federal cases, said the court treated the Madigan case like any ordinary case, with focus on the sufficiency of the evidence in a light most favorable to the prosecution, and the jury instruction challenge requiring a showing of prejudice.

“The defense attempt to focus them in a different fashion didn’t work out for them,” Goldberg told The Center Square.

Golberg said Madigan’s next move would be to seek a review by the U.S. Supreme Court.

“There are issues that if the Supreme Court grants certiorari, he might have a shot,” Goldberg told The Center Square.

Goldberg said Madigan could focus on official acts after a 2016 Supreme Court decision to vacate former Virginia Gov. Robert McDonnell’s corruption conviction.

“What’s required after McDonnell for an official act, and what type of specific action does the Supreme Court believe can be a basis of a prosecution?” Goldberg said.

Goldberg said Madigan could argue about the definition of “corruptly” as his defense team did during the initial four-month trial that started in October 2024.

In the related ComEd Four case, a different three-judge panel from the Seventh Circuit ordered former ComEd CEO Anne Pramaggiore and lobbyist Michael McClain to be released from prison pending a new trial.

Pramaggiore, McClain and two others were convicted in 2023 of conspiracy, bribery and falsifying records as part of a scheme to bribe Madigan.

“I think there’s some factual distinctions, and the prosecution’s theories and charging decisions were different. That’s why that purportedly related matter might turn out differently,” Goldberg said.

Madigan’s successor as speaker is Emanuel “Chris” Welch, D-Hillside. The speaker’s office did not reply to The Center Square’s request for comment.

Illinois House Republican Leader Tony McCombie, R-Savanna, said she was glad the court affirmed that Madigan was corrupt.

“As the longest-serving speaker that we have had, he obviously used decades to leverage his power. That benefited him and the Democrat Party, and you’re seeing that even right now with the constitutional amendment for the remap,” McCombie told The Center Square.

Last week, the House passed Welch’s House Joint Resolution Constitutional Amendment 28. The measure provides for, among other things, the creation of racial coalition or influence districts.

McCombie said it should not be left to the courts to fix Illinois’ ethics problems.

“We have bills out there to offer solutions, but why not call them up, or why not steal them like they do other good pieces of legislation and run them themselves?” McCombie said.

Madigan began serving a 7.5-year term on Oct. 13, 2025, at a federal prison camp in Morgantown, West Virginia.

According to the Bureau of Prisons, Madigan’s scheduled release date is January 3, 2032.

Madigan served in the Illinois House from 1971 to 2021 and was speaker for all but two years from 1983 to 2021. He chaired the Democratic Party of Illinois from 1998 to 2021 and also led Chicago’s 13th Ward Democratic Organization.