In March 2022, former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan (D-Chicago) was indicted on 23 counts of racketeering, bribery, and official misconduct. Madigan resigned after losing the House speakership in January 2021. Madigan’s trial has been postponed from April until Oct. 8 after a recent court hearing. The charges stem from the alleged improper dealings with the state’s largest utility, Commonwealth Edison (ComEd). So far, Madigan has used millions of dollars in campaign funds to pay for his criminal defense. 

In prior court cases involving the scandal, prosecutors presented secretly recorded videos, wiretapped phone calls, and hundreds of emails to show how the four former ComEd executives and lobbyists were “the grandmasters of corruption.” Prosecutors said that the utility paid out $1.3 million in jobs, contracts, and payments to associates of former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan over eight years in exchange for favorable treatment on legislation in Springfield that would affect the finances of the utility company.

Madigan served in the Illinois House from 1971 to 2021. He served as Speaker of the Illinois House from 1983 to 1995 and then again from 1997 to 2021. He wielded additional power as chairman of the Democratic Party of Illinois.