Former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan was on Wednesday charged with racketeering and bribery. The 79-year-old, who was for decades one of the nation’s most powerful legislators, was charged with 22 counts. 

Nicknamed the “Velvet Hammer” for his insistence on strict party discipline, Madigan was the longest-serving state House speaker in modern US history.

In 2020, he was charged in a long-running bribery scheme involving ComEd, the state’s main electric utility, which claimed in court files that it obtained jobs and contracts for allies of Public Official A from 2011 to 2019 in exchange for favorable regulatory treatment. In August 2020, ComEd agreed to pay $200 million in a settlement to avoid prosecution, while this did not exclude criminal proceedings against any individual.

A spokeswoman for Madigan last year denied the ComEd-related allegations and said Madigan would cooperate with the investigation “which he believes will clearly demonstrate that he has done nothing criminal or improper.”

Despite his determination to win a 19th term as speaker in January, he was unable to garner the 60 votes needed to retain the gavel. He resigned his seat effective Feb. 28, 2021, He resigned as chairman of the Democratic Party of Illinois on Feb. 22.  

Family – 

Michael Madigan’s father served as an investigator for the Illinois Liquor Control Commission and his younger sister is married to Jack McGivney

In 1976, Michael Madigan married Shirley, a law firm reception and a divorcee with a ten-year-old daughter, Lisa. The two were blessed with three children –  Tiffany, Nicole, and Andrew.

Net worth – 

Michael Madigan’s net worth is estimated to be around $2 million. As an attorney, he earned a basic salary of $67,000 yearly.