In Courtroom 1203 at the Everett McKinley Dirksen U.S. Courthouse Wednesday, a jury convicted Madigan on 10 counts of bribery, conspiracy, wire fraud and use of a facility to promote unlawful activity.

Morris Pasqual, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, said the longtime speaker breached and violated the public trust over and over again.

“Bribery, whether it’s the old-fashioned cash stuffed in an envelope or the more refined practiced by Madigan, it’s still illegal, it’s still corrupt, and it’s still against the law, and it still undermines public confidence in government,” Pasqual said.

Pasqual added that Illinois taxpayers have a right to honest, clean government.

The jury found Madigan guilty of ComEd-related Counts 2, 4, 5, and 6 of the indictment, plus Counts 8-10 and 12-14 involving a state board position.

Madigan’s ComEd-related convictions were for conspiracy, bribery, and use of a facility to promote unlawful activity. His state board convictions were for wire fraud and use of a facility to promote unlawful activity.

The jury found Madigan not guilty on seven counts, including all charges related to the Union West development in Chicago.

Jurors deadlocked on the six counts that involved Madigan and codefendant Michael McClain, including the racketeering conspiracy “umbrella” Count 1, the Chicago Chinatown parcel counts and the lone AT&T-related charge, Count 23.

McClain and his lead attorney, Patrick Cotter, spoke briefly with reporters after the verdict was announced.

“We are very glad to be walking out of this building the way Mike walked into it. He was an innocent man when he walked in. He’s walking out an innocent man,” Cotter said.

“My head is spinning. I can’t really put things into thoughts,” McClain said.

When asked if he was surprised by the verdict, McClain said he was surprised he got indicted.

McClain was convicted with three others at the related ComEd Four trial in 2023, and ComEd agreed to pay $200 million in fines as part of a deferred prosecution agreement. McClain still awaits sentencing in the ComEd Four case. 

Prosecutors alleged that ComEd and AT&T Illinois gave out no-work or little-work jobs and contract work to those loyal to Madigan to get legislation passed that would benefit them in Springfield.

A sentencing hearing for the former speaker has not been scheduled.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois, each wire fraud count is punishable by a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison, while each bribery count is punishable by up to 10 years.  The maximum for conspiracy to commit an offense against the United States and each count of using interstate facilities to promote unlawful activity is five years.

Pasqual said no decision had yet been made on whether the government would re-try counts that the jury deadlocked on.

Jurors moved quickly after sending a note Tuesday afternoon indicating that they had “reached their limit” and wanted to “start fresh” in the morning.

Judge John Robert Blakey read juror note #31 of the trial around 10 a.m. Wednesday and said the jury had reached a unanimous decision on 17 counts. Blakey said the jurors added that they were at an impasse on the other counts and did not believe they would be able to come to a decision on those charges.

The total number of 29 included 23 counts against Madigan and six against McClain.

Madigan attorney Dan Collins moved to accept the partial verdict and called for a mistrial on the other counts. Cotter agreed on behalf of McClain.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Amar Bhachu said the government was amenable to a partial verdict and suggested that the judge instruct the jury to accept the verdict on some charges and continue deliberating on the others. Bhachu said the jurors should know that a partial verdict would be final.

Blakey said he would be concerned about inviting further deliberation if the jury is “totally at an impasse.”

After attorneys conferred, Bhachu’s revised instruction advised jurors they would not have to reach a unanimous verdict on all charges, but they could return a verdict on those charges and the verdict would be final. The judge added that jurors would have to leave the undecided counts blank on their verdict forms.

Blakey noted that the jury had been conscientious, forthcoming and candid throughout the trial. He also complimented defense attorneys and prosecutors for their professionalism.

Before the verdict was read, attorneys conferred about forfeiture trial dates in the event of a conviction. They determined the bench trial would begin after defense attorneys file post-trial motions. The government could seek as much as $3.2 million in assets from the defendant.

During his final rebuttal argument last month, Assistant U.S. Attorney Amar Bhachu said Madigan and McClain were playing chess, not checkers, and called the two defendants “Grand Masters of Corruption.”

After the verdict, Pasqual was asked how much Madigan’s testimony opened the case up for the prosecution.

“It’s hard to say. Obviously, in preparing for trial, we were prepared for each and every contingency, including the contingency that the defendant would get up on the witness stand and testify. We feel like the cross-examination of the defendant was effective, and I’ll leave it at that,” Pasqual said.

Madigan, D-Chicago, 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. Madigan also led the 13th Ward Democratic Organization and served as 13th Ward committeeman.

McClain, D-Quincy, became a lobbyist after serving in the Illinois House from 1973 to 1982.