“The 22nd District is a garden,” then-Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan told reporters several years ago when asked about his House district. Some thought it was funny, but he was serious. And he’s most definitely the head gardener.
I’ve often said that Madigan, who officially resigned from the House on Thursday after more than 50 years in the Legislature, ran the speaker’s office like he ran his ward and district offices. So the House was an even bigger garden than his home turf.
Madigan was, of course, a master fixer who took care of his members’ every need. And since he often preferred electing the sort of folks to his chamber who, um, didn’t always have the ability to fend for themselves, electorally or otherwise, his entire operation was like a big feedback loop. He elected members who needed his help and then he would help them whenever they asked, whether that was something as simple as tickets to a ballgame, campaign money, jobs and contracts, or even mov
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Center-left political party needed; center-right party needed more | Letters
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