Michael Madigan

**Michael J. Madigan** (born April 19, 1942) is an American politician. He was the Speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives and Chairman of the Democratic Party of Illinois. A Democrat, he has held the position of Speaker of the House for all but two years since 1983—those two years being a brief interregnum of Republican majority and is the longest serving Speaker.
He has been a member of the Illinois House  1971-2021, and represented the 22nd district. He was the longest serving Speaker in Illinois and was known for having a rough rivalry with former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich.

On January 11, 2021, Madigan announced he would be ending his bid to be elected to a nineteenth term as Speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives.

## Early life

Madigan was born on April 19, 1942 in Chicago, Illinois. He studied at University of Notre Dame and graduated from the Loyola University Chicago School of Law.

## Speaker of the House of Illinois

He has been Speaker of the Illinois House since 1982, with the exception of 1995–1996 when Republicans took control of the chamber.  Madigan engineered a Democratic comeback and regained his majority at the elections of November 1996, which he continues to defend today. He has feuded with other Democratic leaders since 2002when Democrats took control of all branches of the state governmentmost notably Governor Rod Blagojevich and Senate President Emil Jones.

One of Madigan's chief Democratic deputies in the House was Gary Hannig, who often handles budget issues.

He was the longest-serving leader of any state or federal legislative body in the history of the United States, having held the position for all but two years since 1983.

In January 2021, Madigan refused to run for State House Speaker again following bribery allegations. Madigan operated a property tax consulting enterprise that prosecutors alleged to facilitate a bribery enterprise

On February 18, 2021 Madigan resigned from the state legislature.

## Criminal charges

On March 2, 2022, Madigan was indicted on federal racketeering charges. He was convicted at trial on October 8, 2024, and has appeals of the conviction pending.

On February 12, 2025, Madigan was convicted on ten counts of bribery, wire fraud, and Travel Act violations. However, none of these convictions were related to his alleged racketeering partnership with Michael McClain. He was sentenced to 7½ years in prison and a $2.5 million fine.

## Personal life

Madigan is married to Shirley Madigan. They had one daughter. His daughter is former Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan. He lives and represents West Lawn, Chicago.

## Other websites

- Representative Michael J. Madigan (D) 22nd District at the 98th Illinois General Assembly
    - Previous sessions: 97th , 96th , 95th , 94th, 93rd
- Chairman Michael J. Madigan  of the Democratic Party of Illinois

## Infobox (officeholder)

- **image**: Michael Madigan Cropped.png
- **caption**: Madigan in 2013
- **office**: Chair of the Democratic Party of Illinois
- **term start**: April 3, 1998
- **term end**: February 22, 2021
- **predecessor**: Gary LaPaille
- **successor**: Karen Yarbrough _(interim)_
- **office1**: 67th and 69th List of Speakers of the Illinois House of Representatives, Speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives
- **governor1**: Jim Edgar
George Ryan
Rod Blagojevich
Pat Quinn (politician), Pat Quinn
Bruce Rauner
J. B. Pritzker
- **term start1**: January 8, 1997
- **term end1**: January 13, 2021
- **predecessor1**: Lee A. Daniels, Lee Daniels
- **successor1**: Emanuel Chris Welch
- **governor2**: James R. Thompson
Jim Edgar
- **term start2**: January 12, 1983
- **term end2**: January 11, 1995
- **predecessor2**: Arthur A. Telcser, Arthur Telcser
- **successor2**: Lee A. Daniels, Lee Daniels
- **state house3**: Illinois
- **district3**: 22nd
- **term start3**: January 13, 1971
- **term end3**: February 18, 2021
- **predecessor3**: Frank Savickas
- **successor3**: Edward Guerra Kodatt
- **constituency3**: 27th district (1971–83)
30th district (1983–93)
22nd district (1993–2021)
- **birth name**: Michael Joseph Madigan
- **birth place**: Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
- **party**: Democratic Party (United States), Democratic
- **spouse**: Shirley Murray
- **children**: 4, including Lisa Madigan, Lisa (adopted)
- **education**: University of Notre Dame (Bachelor of Arts, B.A.)
Loyola University Chicago, Loyola University (Juris Doctor, J.D.)