The Complicated Legacy of Michael Madigan
Former Illinois House Speaker Rep. Michael Madigan (D-Chicago) will go down in history as one of the state’s most powerful political players. But will his legacy be one of Democratic success or corruption and mismanagement?
For however long Michael Joseph Madigan decides to stay in the Illinois General Assembly, his political obituary is already written.
He was a delegate to the 1970 constitutional convention at age 27, elected to the Illinois House at age 29, elected Speaker of the House 11 years later, and served the next 36 of 38 years as House Speaker. Not only is he the longest serving legislative leader in Illinois history, he’s the longest serving legislative leader in American history.
He spent decades consolidating power, raising prolific amounts of money for his candidates, drawing legislative maps, working to out-flank governors on their own agenda while outlasting six of them.
Many Democrats feel Madigan deserves praise. His successor, new Speaker Chris Welch, said during his inaugural speech Wednesday Madigan has made lives better in the state.
“We have to thank and acknowledge that our state would not be where it is today without Speaker Madigan. We have to acknowledge that fact,” Welch said. “While our state has many problems, our schools are better, more children have access to health care, and our working-class families can more easily live the American dream.”
Lobbyist Jim Morphew, who spent seven years as Madigan’s Chief Legal Counsel, has fond memories of his time with the now-former Speaker.
“I was extremely fortunate to work for Speaker Madigan for many years. At a young age, I learned by his example the value of hard work and attention to detail. Serving as his Legislative Counsel through the 1980’s and early 90’s was the best job I’ve ever had,” Morphew said. “Among others accomplishments, he should be recognized for his determined efforts to maintain the Legislature as a co-equal branch of Illinois government. One example—when Governors encroached upon legislative authority through the excessive use of the amendatory veto power, the House rules were amended to curtail this practice. This amendatory veto rule, which has also been adopted by the Senate, remains in place today.”
But Republicans have always looked at Madigan as a sort of supernatural “boogeyman” figure, skirting the rules, profiting off of state business, and being the stereotypical political party “boss” in the vein of an Anton Cermack or Richard M. Daley.
Then there’s the multimillion-dollar Commonwealth Edison bribery scheme that may have been Madigan’s ultimate undoing.
In a federal deferred prosecution agreement, ComEd agreed that it conspired with a close Madigan ally, former State Representative, and now retired lobbyist Mike McClain, to steer jobs and contracts to Madigan insiders for favorable legislation.
“I don’t have anything positive to say,” said House Republican Leader Jim Durkin (R-Western Springs), who has battled with Madigan since becoming GOP Leader in 2013. “The institution is better off with him leaving and his record speaks for itself. We have budgets that are grossly unbalanced, pension systems that are wildly out of control, we have corruption at the worst level that is occurring with him regarding actions taking place within the House of Representatives. I can’t say the Speaker has served this state well.”
Andy Shaw, the longtime Chicago journalist and former head of the Better Government Association, agreed that many Democrats would be happy with the results Madigan produced.
“Madigan can take a large amount of credit for everything Democratic voters support in Illinois: Ending the death penalty; approving same-sex marriage and marijuana legalization; raising the minimum wage; protecting trial lawyers and public employees; keeping the Sox and Bears happy with new stadiums, and providing government jobs and contracts to political allies,” Shaw said.
But a new crop of Democrats has gained more power in recent years, less focused on back-slapping southwest side machine politics and more toward progressive, reform-oriented legislation.
One of those progressives, Rep. Will Guzzardi (D-Chicago) wrote in an e-mail to constituents this week about Madigan’s complicated legacy.
“Michael Madigan's imprint on this state is profoundly indelible,” Guzzardi wrote. “He leaves in his wake a long list of legislative achievements I prize greatly, and a long shadow of corruption and impropriety that will cloud our party and our chamber for years to come.”
Rep. Kelly Cassidy (D-Chicago), another progressive reformer in the Democratic caucus and one of Madigan’s chief critics for re-election,
“While Speaker Madigan has dedicated his life to this chamber, it was clear that the time for change has come,” she said in a statement.
But Welch, a Madigan ally, was effusive in his praise of Madigan’s success.
“I think Speaker Madigan should be applauded for what he has done for this state,” Welch said Wednesday. “We have 73 Democrats and we are in the super majority because of Speaker Madigan. I have learned a lot from his leadership. There are some things that I would like to continue, but there are some things would do differently.”
Shaw, though, who has observed much of Madigan’s career, knows the now-former Speaker was a main target for Republican critics.
“He also gets a large part of the blame for things GOP voters resent, including bloated government bureaucracies, huge pension liabilities, stacks of unpaid bills, unbalanced budgets, low credit ratings and widespread corruption,” he said. “Polls on Madigan indicate the negatives far outweigh the positives, perhaps in part because the media—I too plead guilty here—focuses more on the former than the latter. But I think it’s safe to say that most of Illinois is ready for this long overdue change, and hopeful that it will begin to pull Illinois out of its fiscal and ethical death spiral.”
Madigan was centered in scandals, from his property tax work in his law firm, to a sexual harassment scandal in his office to the latest ComEd allegations. Whether it ends in his eventual prosecution, only time will tell.
