Former Illinois House Speaker Madigan asks President Trump for pardon
Former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan is asking President Donald Trump to pardon him. Good luck with that.
Former Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan is asking President Donald Trump for a pardon, but his history of castigating the president is unlikely to help his cause.
At the 2020 Democratic National Convention, Madigan criticized Trump for “his deliberate efforts to fan the flames of hatred and racial and ethnic division for his own political purposes.”
Also, Madigan said his nemesis, former Gov. Bruce Rauner, and Trump used the same methods: criticize others, avoid discussing their own programs. “And so, I think I’m fully justified in linking Trump and Rauner together in extremism.”
A jury convicted Madigan in February on bribery conspiracy, wire fraud and other corruption charges. Department of Justice records show Madigan is seeking a “pardon after completion of sentence,” even though his projected release date is in 2032.
Trump commuted former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s 14-year sentence in 2020 after he spent eight years in prison. Trump fully pardoned him in February. Trump knew Blagojevich from appearing on his television show, “The Apprentice.”
Madigan’s sentence just started in October at a minimum-security federal prison camp near Morgantown, West Virginia,
Madigan is the product of a system Illinois has tolerated for too long. Illinois averages more than one public corruption conviction every week: 2,168 convictions from 1983 through 2023. Illinois Policy Institute analysis found corruption cost the state up to about $550 million a year in lost economic growth from 2000 to 2017.
A pardon for Madigan would reward the culture Illinois needs to break. The answer isn’t mercy for machine bosses: it’s real reform so no Illinois politician can ever build a Madigan-style empire again.
Madigan in 2020 ridiculed ethics reforms efforts in Springfield, saying reforms should start with Trump in Washington, D.C.
“I would suggest that the Illinois Republicans who want to pursue ethics reform go out to Washington, follow up on President Trump’s promise to drain the swamp,” Madigan said. “They can begin with Trump, the Attorney General [William Barr], [Former National Security Advisor] Michael Flynn, Roger Stone and others.”
Here are five simple ethics fixes that would help Illinois start draining the Springfield swamp:
- End the revolving door of lawmaker to lobbyist. Prohibit lawmakers from acting as lobbyists while they’re in office and establish a two-year limit between retiring as lawmaker and becoming a lobbyist.
- Require better financial disclosure and voting recusal for conflicts of interest. Mandate lawmakers to provide detailed statements of economic interests and to recuse themselves from voting in the case of a conflict of interest, with real penalties for violating this rule.
- Empower the legislative inspector general. Allow the office to serve as a watchdog able to issue subpoenas on its own initiative and publish findings of wrongdoing.
- Enact true, fair political district maps. Adopt a redistricting process that places map-making power with an independent redistricting commission and removes it from the hands of state lawmakers who stand to benefit from drawing their own districts in their favor.
- Reform the House Rules. Right-size the speaker’s legislative power so one political office does not have the power in the General Assembly to determine when or even whether a bill is called for a vote.