Read an article this morning about former speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives, Michael Madigan (D, Ill.)
The article was somewhat of a recanting of a tragedy, and I'm using the definition of tragedy as it applies to the commission of a serious crime.
The serious crime(s) that was/were committed (I am not writing "allegedly" here due to the fact that the gentleman was convicted of Federal bribery, wire fraud, and conspiracy charges in a trial that lasted over four months and featured an overwhelming amount of evidence (taped conversations, documents, photographs) and testimony from sixty (60) witnesses were enough to grab headlines at least nationwide, if not globally.
Or at least should have been, but I'm betting this is the first you are hearing about it - makes one wonder what the gazillion content-hungry news media sites on the web are reporting on. Let me check real quick:
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Wait a minute...right there on MSN.com...if you scroll down past the articles about The 14 Must-Have Albums Every Rock Fan Should Own and What Makes Jimi Hendrix Such A Good Guitarist and Ten Funny Pun Signs That Will Make You Laugh, there it is, on your far right...The Longest-Serving Legislative Leader In The U.S. Will Be Sentenced On Corruption Charges...28 sentences dedicated to a recap of a trial that began in October of 2024, was concluded in February of 2025, and has finally reached the sentencing phase.
And this is the first time you are hearing about it. The single-most powerful elected official in the sixth most populous state in the U.S. being convicted of fairly grievous crimes...the man had a fifty (50!) year career in the illinois legislature (forty of those years as House Speaker), and was Chairperson of the Illinois Democratic Party for twenty (20!) years...setting the political agenda for the entire state, handpicking candidates for political office, in complete control of the manipulation of legislative and congressional lines every ten years to favor his political party...and this is the first time you are hearing about it.
Okay, I'm making a gross generalization, some of you may have heard about this from the get-go and have followed it as closely as you follow your favorite sports team or favorite celebrity-centric television program...but I asked 12 random people at my gym this morning, a woman that was getting coffee at the Q-Stop when I was, and two guys I work with about this very topic and not one person had heard about it. Heck, the woman I asked at the Q-Stop mused for a second and then asked if I was talking about the Illinois governor that was caught trying to sell Obama's U.S. senate seat...which, FYI, was Rod Blagojevich and happened 17 years ago...I gave her a half-point for remembering that fiasco though.
But I digress...back on topic. The unintentionally Sadly Funniest Thing I've read all week was a quote from one of Michael Madigan's lawyers pleading for leniency in sentencing for his client.
That quote was, "Mike Madigan is a good man who has selflessly done an exceptional amount of good for others. He is widely respected for his dedication to honesty and integrity."
That right there..."widely respected for his dedication to honesty and integrity"...that is the unintentionally sadly funniest thing I've read all week.
See, this is why it's important to get good legal representation when you are on trial...good legal representation will lie for you and distort reality like a psychopath on medical grade cocaine.
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