Former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan began serving his prison sentence Monday in West Virginia, 500 miles from Chicago.
By Jon Seidel | Chicago Sun*Times
In West Virginia: Michael J. Madigan, the longtime former head of Illinois’ Democratic Party, is in prison. The 83-year-old surrendered Monday to a minimum-security federal prison camp in Morgantown, West Virginia — 500 miles away from Chicago and a 1.5-hour drive south of Pittsburgh — according to a source. Prison camps are known to have little to no fencing and inmates have access to a prison commissary.
The sentence: U.S. District Judge John Blakey handed Madigan a 7.5-year prison sentence in June, four months after a jury convicted him of bribery conspiracy, wire fraud and other crimes. Madigan testified in his own defense at trial, and Blakey found that he lied to the jury.
Key context: Madigan’s surrender caps a massive corruption investigation that began in 2014. But it wasn’t until Jan. 29, 2019, that the Sun-Times revealed the FBI had secretly recorded Madigan inside his private law office. About 20 people have since been charged. Madigan is the 11th to report to prison. Three others are due behind bars in the coming weeks.
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