Lawmakers recall former Illinois House speaker’s tactics ahead of corruption trial

[October 07, 2024]  By Jim Talamonti | The Center Square

(The Center Square) – With the racketeering and bribery trial of longtime former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan scheduled to begin Tuesday, Illinois lawmakers are recalling some of Madigan’s tactics.

Madigan and co-defendant Michael McClain are facing 23 counts of racketeering, bribery and official misconduct charges as part of a federal indictment.

Democratic State Rep. Kelly Cassidy said she was forced to resign from her job with the Cook County Sheriff’s Office in 2018 after she called for an investigation of sexual harassment allegations against a Madigan aide.

“My supervisor at the time came to me and said that the speaker’s chief of staff had called to see if I was still employed there and asked me if that was something that they did ordinarily and I said no. She said, ‘I didn’t think so,’ and it seemed ominous,” Cassidy said.

Cassidy added that she opposed one of Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart’s bills a little bit later, and somebody in Madigan’s leadership team turned it into a public issue.

“I ultimately had to resign the position because of that controversy they created. All of that, each of these things, were in the immediate aftermath of me speaking up, pointing out problems within his [Madigan’s] administration,” Cassidy said.

Cassidy said she learned about Madigan’s ways earlier when the speaker’s office had some of her allies question her about betraying her values and working for then-Governor Bruce Rauner’s turnaround agenda.

“During the Rauner years, there was a pretty amazing day where, as I moved through the Capitol, I was getting these really weird questions from traditional allies: a union member asking me if I was reconsidering my position on pensions, the trial lawyers asking me if I had rethought my position on workers comp, for example,” Cassidy recalled.

Cassidy said that these allies had been assigned to confront her that day.

“I don’t believe for a minute that any of them believed I was doing it, nor do I think that Madigan’s people thought so. It was just another way to harass me,” Cassidy said.

Former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan walks out of the Everett M. Dirksen U.S. Courthouse in Chicago on Wednesday, Jan. 3, 2024. - By Brett Rowland | The Center Square

Republican State Rep. Dave Severin said he experienced the things he had heard about Madigan for 30 years, when he first ran for the statehouse in 2016 against a Madigan ally.

“They literally did everything they could to ruin my name, my business, our family name,” Severin said.

Severin defeated Democrat John Bradley in the 2016 general election. Bradley had served as the Democrats’ Assistant Majority Leader in the statehouse since 2013. He also served as chair of the Revenue and Finance Committee. Severin described Bradley as a Madigan lieutenant.

“I found out immediately, if you were going to oppose Speaker Madigan or someone that was one of his cronies, you were going to have the wrath of Madigan after you immediately. So I experienced that even before I was elected,” Severin said.

Severin said he still prays for the former speaker regularly.

“Life goes fast, and he’s up in his age. On Earth, he’s gonna pay for the things that he’s done, but there’s even a larger picture than that. I respect him for the position that he had, but I don’t respect the corruption that he facilitated,” Severin said.

The 82-year-old Madigan served in the Illinois House from 1971 to 2021. He was speaker for all but two years between 1983 and 2021.

United States of America v. Madigan et al is scheduled to begin with jury selection at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday at the Everett McKinley Dirksen United States Courthouse in Chicago.