By Kelsey Landis | Belleville News-Democrat
• Feb 8, 2021
House Speaker Mike Madigan (D-Chicago) speaks with reporters in July 2017. Three former ComEd lobbyists, including a close Madigan confidante, and the former CEO of ComEd s parent company were indicted Wednesday, charged with orchestrating a bribery scheme that allegedly sought to influence Madigan. Brian Mackey / NPR Illinois
Editor’s note: This story was originally published by the Belleville News-Democrat, a news partner of St. Louis Public Radio.
To southern Illinois Democratic lawmakers, Speaker Michael Madigan was the omnipresent benefactor the force behind nearly every successful piece of legislation or election.
To downstate Republicans, he embodied the worst of Chicago politics. He was the ruthless architect of the pension crisis, higher taxes and redistricting that pushed conservatives to the margins. He left the speakership as “Public Official A,” the unnamed figure in the f
He also thinks there is some good.
But his main issue is the speed of which it was passed by both chambers and sent to the governor for his consideration.
âWhat happened here was flat-out wrong. At 3:04 a.m., they introduced a nearly 800-page bill with all this stuff, and began voting on it at 4:02 a.m. Seven-hundered-sixty-four pages with 58 minutes notice at four oâclock in the morning,â said Rose of the bill that was rushed through the recent lame duck session of the state legislature.
âIt took our staff attorneys five days to get through that 764-page report,â he added.
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There s little doubt that new Illinois Speaker of the House Emanuel "Chris" Welch will run the chamber differently than former longtime Speaker Michael Madigan.
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