MADIGAN RETIREMENT SUSPENDED 2/17/25 The
annual pension for former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan is being
suspended after he was found guilty on conspiracy and bribery charges. The
General Assembly Retirement System of Illinois (GARS) sent the former Illinois
Speaker of the House notice by mail Thursday. Madigan,
who was tried alongside his longtime confidant Michael McClain, was accused of
orchestrating five separate corruption schemes in which he sought to use his
immense political power to enrich himself and his allies. A jury of eight
women and four men found the former speaker guilty Wednesday on charges related
to two of those schemes following a four-month trial at the Dirksen Federal
Building in downtown Chicago. Madigan’s
sentencing date has not yet been scheduled, but he faces up to 20 years in
prison on his wire fraud convictions. The conspiracy and bribery charges also
carry possible sentences of up to 5 and 10 years, respectively. Following
his criminal convictions, Madigan will also now face a forfeiture trial in
which he could be forced to pay a significant amount in penalties related to
the bribery schemes. That trial is scheduled for May 5th.