UPDATE: Madigan indictment story and reaction

Here’s our story on Madigan’s indictment:

Longtime House Speaker Michael Madigan Indicted

Michael J. Madigan, one of the most powerful figures in the history of Illinois politics, is now among the long list of Illinois politicians to face federal corruption charges.

U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois John Lausch announced a 22-count federal indictment against Madigan Wednesday, shocking the Illinois political class more than any other indictment of an Illinois politician since Rod Blagojevich.

Madigan and his longtime confidante, former State Representative and retired lobbyist Mike McClain , face charges of racketeering, bribery, wire fraud, and other extortion offenses.

The indictment accuses Madigan of leading, for nearly a decade, a criminal enterprise whose purpose was to enhance Madigan’s political power and financial wellbeing, while also generating income for his political allies and associates,“ Lausch said in a news conference Wednesday afternoon. “The charges allege that Madigan used his various elected and professional positions to further the goals of the criminal enterprise.”

Lausch said Madigan required companies, like electric utility Commonwealth Edison, to pay Madigan’s associates as a reward for their loyalty to Madigan without performing viable work for the company. He said many of the jobs for Madigan associates were “low show or no show.” The indictment also alleges Madigan used his power in Springfield to siphon business to his law firm.

The grand jury which returned the indictment against Madigan and McClain has apparently been empaneled since April of last year, with the indictments being returned Wednesday.

It does not appear that any of his lieutenants or confidants “flipped” on Madigan, but that the feds got their evidence from wiretapped phone calls.

“What you do have are words that are used in conversations. You do have words that are used in documents or on e-mails that are spelled out throughout the indictment,” Lausch said. “And that’s the core of our evidence in this case.

Lausch all but confirmed some of the evidence comes from wiretaps. It is widely believed both McClain and former Chicago Alderman Danny Solis were monitored by the FBI.

Reaction to Madigan Indictment

Pritzker:

“An indictment of this magnitude is a condemnation of a system infected with promises of pay-to-play, and the era of corruption and self-dealing among Illinois politicians must end. The conduct alleged in this indictment is deplorable and a stark violation of the public’s trust. Michael Madigan must be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law.

Ultimately, every person in elected office is responsible for doing the right thing – and not lining their own pockets. I am fully committed to eradicate the scourge of corruption from our political system, and today’s indictment is an important step in cleaning up Illinois. I have faith that our justice system will help restore the public’s trust in government.

When I ran for office, I made clear that I would be beholden to no one, and that I would serve the best interests of the people of Illinois. I have upheld that vow. For the past three years, my administration has made clear that such abuses will not be tolerated, and we’ve tightened our ethics laws. I will continue to work with the General Assembly to restore the public’s trust.”

Welch:

“As Chair of the Special Investigating Committee, I made it clear that this matter needed to be handled in a court of law, completely separate from the legislature. As is evident by this federal indictment, the full weight of the justice system was needed to ensure all charges are investigated properly and thoroughly. At my direction, the Office of the Speaker has fully cooperated with the investigation and will continue to do so.”

McConchie:

“Madigan’s indictment is testament to the outstanding work of federal investigators, who have taken tremendous steps in the long process of rooting out public corruption in Illinois. However, the people of Illinois shouldn’t have to rely on the Feds to continuously clean up the state’s mess. Today’s announcement underscores the need to empower officials here in Illinois to investigate and prosecute misconduct and corruption of its own public officials. Senate Republicans, as they have for several years now, continue to advocate for the use of a statewide grand jury so we are no longer beholden to the federal government, and we can begin to restore the public’s trust within our own capacity.”