Feds want lengthy 12 1/2-year prison sentence for ex-House Speaker Michael Madigan

Calling former House Speaker Michael Madigan “steeped in corruption,” federal prosecutors on Friday asked for a whopping 12 1/2-year prison term and $1.5 million fine for Madigan’s conviction nearly four months ago on bribery and other conspiracy charges.

“The crimes charged and proven at trial demonstrate that Madigan engaged in corrupt activity at the highest level of state government for nearly a decade,” prosecutors wrote in their 72-page memo. “Time after time, Madigan exploited his immense power for his own personal benefit by trading his public office for private gain for himself and his associates, all the while carefully and deliberately concealing his conduct from detection.”

Prosecutors also want U.S. District Judge John Robert Blakey to punish Madigan for what they say were a series of lies he told on the witness stand when he testified in his own defense in January.

“Madigan has expressed no remorse for his crimes, nor has he acknowledged the damage wrought by his conduct,” the filing stated. “Indeed, Madigan went so far as to commit perjury at trial in an effort to avoid accountability, and he persists in framing his actions as nothing more than helping people.”

If prosecutors were successful, Madigan would be around 94 years old when eligible for release given federal convicts must serve 85 percent of their incarceration time.

Madigan’s lawyers, meanwhile, are set to file their own sentencing recommendations later Friday. His sentencing is set for June 13.

Madigan, 83, once the most powerful politician in the state, was convicted by a jury Feb. 12 on bribery conspiracy and other corruption charges alleging he used his public office to increase his power, line his own pockets and enrich a small circle of his most loyal associates.

The jury found him guilty on 10 of 23 counts, including one count of conspiracy related to a multipronged scheme to accept and solicit bribes from utility giant Commonwealth Edison. Jurors also convicted him on two counts of bribery and one Travel Act violation related to payments funneled to Madigan associates for do-nothing ComEd subcontracts.

Madigan also was convicted on six out of seven counts — including wire fraud and Travel Act violations — regarding a plan to get ex-Ald. Daniel Solis, a key FBI mole who testified at length in the trial, appointed to a state board.

But after 11 days of deliberation, the jury’s final verdict was mixed, deadlocking on several counts — including the marquee racketeering conspiracy charge — and acquitting Madigan on numerous others. Jurors also deadlocked on all six counts related to Madigan’s co-defendant, Michael McClain.

The verdict came after a four-month trial and capped one of the most significant political corruption investigations in Chicago’s sordid history. It also cemented an extraordinary personal fall for Madigan, the longest-serving state legislative leader in the nation’s history who for decades held an iron-tight grip on the House as well as the state Democratic Party.

This is a developing story. Check back for details. 

jmeisner@chicagotribune.com