Michael Madigan had largely disappeared from public view after being ousted as House speaker and resigning both his seat and chairmanship of the Illinois Democratic Party a little more than a year ago.
His indictment Wednesday on federal racketeering charges thrust Madigan back into the headlines, but he held true to form by laying low and responding only with a carefully worded statement declaring his innocence.
Madigan’s penchant for avoiding the spotlight has provided the public with precious few chances to see him speaking at any length about his political operation and philosophy.
But a video recording of a deposition Madigan gave in a lawsuit unrelated to the ComEd bribery scandal that ultimately ended his reign and forms the backbone of the federal indictment provides a lengthy and insightful look at the famously terse and reclusive politician in action.
After raising his right hand and swearing to tell the truth, Madigan, is by turns serious, funny, calm and stoic as he fends off accusations in a federal voting rights case charging he loaded up a 2016 primary ballot with sham candidates to ensure his own victory.
Madigan jokes and laughs, but at other times shows flashes of anger. He is, above all, focused. And more than 100 times, the legislative leader known for a long memory replies to questions with “I don’t remember,” “I don’t recall,” “I don’t know” or “I have no memory.”
The nearly five-hour video deposition obtained by the Tribune was conducted before federal prosecutors named Madigan “Public Official A” in the ComEd bribery scandal. He now is charged in a 22-count federal racketeering indictment alleging his elected office and political operation were a criminal enterprise that provided personal financial rewards for him and his associates.
As Madigan gave what he says was the only deposition in his long career, he was arguably at the height of his power. Democrats were on the verge of winning a 74-44 majority in the Illinois House, a modern-day record in the chamber he ruled for 36 years. Democratic governor candidate J.B. Pritzker was on track during the same election to beat Madigan’s political nemesis, Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner, in November 2018. It would be months before the Tribune first disclosed that the FBI had started raiding homes of close Madigan allies.
Watch the full deposition video “
Madigan was testifying in a federal lawsuit filed by Jason Gonzales, a Democratic challenger for Madigan’s House seat in 2016 who charged the speaker and his operatives planted two extra candidates on the primary ballot to draw votes away from Gonzales.
Madigan won the 2016 primary with 65% of the vote. Gonzales was not trying to overturn the election results through his lawsuit, but asserting that putting up sham candidates represented ballot fraud. He sought up to $2 million in damages.
The lawsuit ultimately failed. Echoing a decision from a lower court, the 7th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled last March the Constitution does not give judges authority to penalize a politician for a “shady strategy that voters tolerate.”
“Gonzales smelled a rat from the start and made that known to the electorate, which swept Madigan back into office anyway,” Judge Frank Easterbrook wrote for the three-judge appellate panel.
“The effort was hardly necessary, since if every non-Madigan vote had gone to Gonzales, (Madigan) still would have won in a landslide,” Easterbrook noted.
In November, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to consider an appeal brought by Gonzales.
While he prevailed at every level, Madigan couldn’t avoid giving a deposition along the way, and found himself explaining some behind-the-scenes work of the vaunted 13th Ward Democratic organization that he has led since 1969.
The Tribune previously disclosed details of the transcript of Madigan’s deposition in the case, along with those of many Madigan operatives. Also giving a deposition was Gonzales, who contended the speaker sought to “destroy your soul” if you opposed him.
An attorney for Madigan did not immediately respond for a comment about the video of Madigan’s deposition.
The video of Madigan’s deposition provides an up-close-and-personal historical record of the state’s longtime most powerful politician taking questions while under oath.
Madigan, his hair trimmed razor sharp, wore a perfectly fitted, somber suit and dark-colored tie. In other words, he looked much like he did on his best days in Springfield, but in this case he couldn’t walk away when he decided it was time to quit answering questions — as he often did with reporters over the years.
In response to a series of names served up by Gonzales’ attorney, Anthony Peraica, Madigan said he had specific criteria for recommending people for public or private jobs, saying they had to be “honest, hardworking, people of integrity,” and denied that getting jobs depended on political work.
Madigan let out a big laugh when Peraica, a former Republican commissioner on the Cook County Board, asked why the speaker would want to be a Democratic committeeman, a post he’s held with the 13th Ward, for 50 years.
“My stock answer is to tell people I am rather peculiar,” Madigan said.
Peraica questioned the speaker about campaign brochures that focused on then 42-year-old Gonzales’ past — he spent 71 days in jail for abusing a credit card as a teen, later receiving a pardon from Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn.
Madigan held up an anti-Gonzales leaflet,that Peraica had asked him to examine. The brochure screamed in large letters: “Neighborhood Alert: Beware of Jason Gonzales’ Criminal Record.” When Madigan pointed to a disclaimer on another page that nodded to Gonzales’ pardon, Peraica said he needed better glasses to read the tiny print.
“Yeah, well, there’s a disclaimer there,” Madigan said.
Peraica quickly responded: “You need a magnifying glass to see it, but yes.”
When pushing back on questions from Peraica, Madigan held firm to his stance that Rauner and his allies played a key role in recruiting Gonzales to run against him.
“We viewed this as a Republican Rauner invasion of the Democratic primary,” Madigan testified, calling it a “choice between Mike Madigan and Governor Rauner’s surrogate.”
Rauner and Gonzales both have denied Madigan’s allegations. But Rauner backers did contribute to Gonzales, among them the conservative Illinois Opportunity Project and millionaire Blair Hull, who lost a 2004 Democratic primary for U.S. Senate to then-Illinois Sen. Barack Obama and who has clashed over the years with Madigan.
Peraica asked Madigan whether he had reached out to any political allies to try to load up the ballot with candidates.
“I don’t remember that,” Madigan said.
“Is it possible that you did?” Peraica asked.
“No,” Madigan responded.
“So you’re certain that you didn’t?” Peraica asked.
“I don’t remember,” Madigan said.
Later, on cross-examination from one of his lawyers, Michael Kasper, Madigan said he did not direct anyone who worked for him or anyone associated with him to recruit candidates to run against him, nor did he know of anyone connected to him who did so.
“The answer is no,” Madigan said.
Even though he ruled in Madigan’s favor, U.S. District Judge Matthew Kennelly had a different take on who knew what about the two alleged sham candidates — Joe Barboza and Grasiela Rodriguez — both of whom have denied being phony candidates.
The judge wrote that it is “undisputed” that some members of Madigan’s political organization worked to put the two extra candidates on the ballot and that the “evidence supports a reasonable inference that Madigan authorized or at least was aware of the recruitment effort.”
The speaker had an explanation for his big win.
“We worked to identify our voters and get them voted,” Madigan said in his deposition. “And our polling told us at the beginning that I had over 65 % support. That’s (what) I got on Election Day because we identify our voters.”
Madigan underscored his concerns about Rauner backing Gonzales, recalling a private meeting in the governor’s office only weeks after Rauner’s January 2015 inauguration.
“Rauner laid out his agenda, his ‘turnaround agenda,’ ” said Madigan, whose campaign funds are filled by the labor unions and trial lawyers that Rauner sought to undercut.
“I told him I wasn’t going to support it, so you know what he said to me? ‘Well, if you don’t support my agenda, I’m just going to come after you,’ and it was only a few weeks later that they spent $1 million on downstate TV defaming me and now they’re like over $30 million defaming me. So if you’re concerned about nastiness in politics, why don’t you go over and talk to Bruce Rauner?” Madigan said.
When Peraica asked if Madigan had authorized campaign pieces attacking Gonzales, Madigan again turned angry.
“Have you seen the TV ads put on by Rauner against me?” Madigan said, calling Rauner’s ads a “defamation that’s been performed on me and my family simply because we’ve got a governor that thinks he’s a dictator, and he was supporting Gonzales.”
And as Peraica questioned whether Madigan was concerned about Gonzales as a challenger, the speaker contended he was “concerned with all of the money that Bruce Rauner was going to bring into the election.”
“We were going to make sure that the voters in the district knew that Bruce Rauner was on the scene and that he was supporting Jason Gonzales because Bruce Rauner is not a popular person in the 22nd District,” Madigan said.
Madigan gave the deposition only a few weeks before the FBI first raided 14th Ward Ald. Edward Burke’s offices in November 2018. Burke now faces corruption charges, and as part of the investigation it was revealed that Madigan had been recorded offering property tax appeal services to an associate of a Chinatown hotel developer.
No criminal charges arose against Madigan from that particular meeting, but Wednesday’s indictment did charge Madigan with illegally soliciting private law business in a deal over the same state-owned parcel in Chinatown.
Peraica sought to establish that Madigan and Burke were allies, and asked the speaker if he thought Burke supported his 2016 reelection.
“The answer would be yes,” Madigan said.
Later, asked whether he considered Burke an ally, Madigan replied,
“Sometimes yes, sometimes no.”
Peraica, at one point showed frustration over Madigan’s professed inability to recall various specifics. “You don’t remember anything, right?” he asked.
“Correct,” Madigan answered.
“Is there anything that would refresh your memory?” Peraica asked the speaker.
“Just spending more time with you,” Madigan quipped.
Madigan got his biggest laugh during the deposition after a slip of the tongue by Peraica as Madigan stood pat on his position that Rauner and his friends were foursquare behind Gonzales.
“We went to our voters. We communicated with our voters. We identified people prepared to support Mike Madigan for retention, and we voted them,” Madigan said.
Peraica responded quickly: “By destroying your opponent, Jason Rauner? “
As they both realized Peraica’s flub, Madigan immediately threw it back at Peraica: “You got it right.”
“Strike that,” Peraica said. “Strike that, that was a misstatement on my part.”
“Yeah, right,” Madigan laughed. “But we won’t file a lawsuit over it.”
Twitter@RayLong
