Former longtime Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan as chairman of the state Democratic Party on Monday, one day after anointing a 26-year-old constituent services worker to fill the legislative seat he held for a half century.
Members of the Democratic Party of Illinois’ State Central Committee will meet Wednesday to select the party’s first new chair in more than 20 years following longtime leader and former House Speaker Michael Madigan’s resignation from the role last week. But dueling legal memos sent to committee members on Monday raised new questions about the race to lead the party.
Kelly has already picked up a high-profile endorsement, as Sen. Dick Durbin, the Senate majority whip, has announced his support of her candidacy.
“Robin s traveled to every corner of Illinois as a statewide candidate. And she represents a district that’s urban, suburban, and rural, Durbin said in a statement. Her experience in Congress, the state legislature, and managing an Illinois constitutional office afford her a breadth of important experience and skill sets. I cannot think of a better person to lead Democrats moving forward in Illinois.
Madigan, who had served as the chair of the party since the late 1990’s, announced his resignation from the post on Monday, just days after announcing he was stepping down from his House seat after more than 50 years in office. Madigan also stepped aside in the recent race to become Speaker of the House, giving up the gavel that he had held for more than 30 years.
SPRINGFIELD After almost 10 years of improvement, public corruption in Illinois spiked in 2019, and the state remains the second most corrupt in the nation, while Chicago still is the most corrupt city, according to a new report from the University of Illinois at Chicago.
“We’re making progress, but we ought to be making progress a lot faster,” said former Chicago Alderman Dick Simpson, a political science professor at UIC and principal author of “Corruption Spikes in Illinois,” the 13th anti-corruption report produced by the university since 2009.
Simpson said federal charges in 2020 against several people in the ongoing bribery investigation involving Commonwealth Edison and former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan likely will contribute to the city and state’s corruption rankings in years to come.