Editorial: Citizen Mike Madigan at your service, President Trump. And should you be thinking about a pardon …

Michael J. Madigan has plenty of time on his hands as he sits in a West Virginia federal prison.

He appears to be keeping up with the news. And, like many engaged readers, he's penning letters to the editor.

Or, in his case, an op-ed, which Crain's Chicago Business decided to publish. The former Illinois House speaker, once the most powerful politician in the state, weighed in on a matter on which this page has opined more than once and (gulp) the once-powerful Democrat agreed with us.

In his piece, Madigan advocated for Illinois to opt into a program authorized in President Donald J. Trump's sprawling 2025 tax law that allows lower-income families to apply for help to pay for private and parochial schools, funded by federally subsidized donations.

We've consistently supported Illinois saying yes, both because we've been longtime backers of giving families without means more choices for educating their kids and also because this initiative is federally funded and won't require Illinois tax dollars.

Ordinarily, we'd welcome more such support, but we feel compelled to draw the line at one of the most corrupt and damaging politicians in Illinois history.

Please, Mr. Madigan, don't do us - or the school-choice movement - any favors.

Gov. JB Pritzker has been noncommittal to this point on whether he'll give Illinois families the opportunity to participate, saying that he wants to see the yet-to-be disclosed details first. But from a purely political point of view, it won't help move the governor in the right direction to have Madigan, the personification of Illinois corruption, among the endorsers. Along with Trump, of course, whom Pritzker detests.

Madigan's arguments in the piece go on at some length about his positive Catholic school experiences (we're wondering if the Archdiocese of Chicago might be cringing a bit, too). And we have little doubt the former speaker is an enthusiastic supporter of Catholic education.

But most folks who decided to check out what Madigan had to say on the issue surely had the same reaction we did: He's angling for a presidential pardon.

Trump, of course, famously sprang Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich early from federal prison in 2020 and just a few weeks into his second term granted Blago a full pardon. Blago, Madigan's nemesis back when both were power brokers in Springfield, repeatedly has lavished praise on Trump ever since, while also trashing the Democratic Party. It's no secret how to get at least some consideration from Trump on his extremely active pardon docket.

Surely the velvet hammer, who we trust hasn't lost his political acumen in retirement, can't be thinking that lending his voice to the school-choice cause actually furthers said cause.

But as to the cause of trimming multiple years off Madigan’s 7.5-year sentence? Well, praising a Trump initiative while putting Pritzker on the spot can't hurt his chances.

Which raises the question: Will we see Madigan chime in on a host of other Trump-friendly policies? We're pretty sure one op-ed by itself isn't going to get the job done.

We can see the headlines now on future Crain’s op-eds.

"Mike Madigan from Morgantown Federal Prison Camp: Why Chicago should welcome the National Guard."

"Mike Madigan: Trump Tower Chicago makes a better addition to the Chicago skyline than the Obama Center."

"Mike Madigan: Gov. Pritzker ought to listen more to President Trump."

Here's one thing we can promise. Should we happen to receive any of Madigan's thoughts on present-day issues in our inbox as he wiles away the days, you're not going to be reading them in the Tribune's Opinion section.

Submit a letter, of no more than 400 words, to the editor here or email letters@chicagotribune.com.

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This story was originally published May 19, 2026 at 5:16 AM.