Illinois' ex-House speaker charged with racketeering

CHICAGO (AP) — Michael Madigan, the former speaker of the Illinois House and for decades one of the nation’s most powerful legislators, was charged with racketeering and bribery on Wednesday, becoming the most prominent politician swept up in the latest federal investigation of entrenched government corruption in the state.

Madigan, 79, is is charged with 22 counts, according to the indictment.

Madigan was the longest-serving state House speaker in modern U.S. history and was nicknamed the “Velvet Hammer” for his insistence on strict party discipline. A procession of top state politicians, including three governors, has been charged during his tenure, but politicians long believed the savvy Madigan would never be among them.

In 2020, the Chicago Democrat was implicated in a long-running bribery scheme involving the state's largest electric utility, ComEd. Court filings at the time didn't name Madigan directly but made it clear he was the person in documents referred to as “Public Official A."

ComEd admitted in court filings that it secured jobs and contracts for associates of Public Official A from 2011 to 2019 for favorable treatment in regulatory rules impacting the utility. ComEd agreed in August 2020 to pay $200 million in a settlement to defer prosecution, though that agreement did not preclude criminal charges against any individual.

The federal complaint came after more than half a dozen Democrats — including Madigan's longtime chief of staff and other confidants — were charged with crimes or had their offices and homes raided by federal agents.

As speaker, the ever-confident Madigan tended to shrug off the political scandal of the day. A spokeswoman for Madigan last year denied the ComEd-related allegations and said Madigan would cooperate with the...