SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Illinois state Rep. Michael Madigan has announced that he is resigning his seat in the Legislature.
The Chicago Democrat virtually set Illinois’ political agenda as House speaker before he was ousted in January of 2021.
The 78-year-old Madigan was elected speaker in 1983 and served 36 of the next 38 years at the helm. He was tarnished by a federal investigation of Statehouse bribery announced last summer that implicated him.
He has not been charged with wrongdoing and maintains his innocence. But he lost his bid for a 19th term as speaker to Hillside Democrat Emanuel “Chris” Welch.
Madigan says he's resigning as state representative at the end of the month.