Michael Madigan, a close friend and personal confidante of Barack Obama, has been indicted on a shocking array of 22 charges, including various racketeering and corruption charges.
The federal indictment against Madigan on Wednesday sent shock-waves through the corridors of state and local government, with politicians from both sides of the aisle condemning Madigan’s alleged crimes as “deplorable” and “disturbing.”
Madigan was charged with a nearly $3 million racketeering and bribery scheme, becoming the most prominent politician swept up in a federal investigation of entrenched government corruption in Illinois.
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Read the full indictment here.
Illinois House Republican Leader Jim Durkin said Wednesday “may be the darkest day in Illinois government history.”
“This is not just an indictment against Michael Madigan, but it’s an indictment against the Democrat Party of Illinois that he ran for decades,” he said.
That would be the same Democrat Party of Illinois that spawned Barack Obama. And Obama repaid the favor in later years, remaining close friends and partners in crime.
llinois House Republican Leader Jim Durkin said the public needs answers from Madigan and his enablers, including Obama, regarding why they did not take action against Madigan earlier.
“But the public needs to get answers from the speaker, and also the Democrats and the governor, of why they did not take action against this man earlier; when there was an opportunity, when the whole house of representatives, through the Special Investigation Committee, began a process in which we had the ability to remove him for cause.”
Former NBC 5 political editor Carol Marin called it the “most sweeping federal investigation we have ever seen come out of the Dirksen.“
“Corruption by an elected official and his associates undermines the public’s confidence in our government,” U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois John Lausch said in a statement. “The indictment alleges a long-term, multifaceted scheme to use public positions for unlawful private gain. Rooting out and prosecuting the kind of corruption alleged in the indictment will always be a top priority for this office.”
So far Barack Obama has remained silent regarding the arrest of “Boss Madigan.”
