Madigan Replacement Chosen...Again
New Rep. Angie Guerrero-Cuellar (D-Chicago) was selected Thursday to replace former House Speaker Michael Madigan representing the southwest side of Chicago and some near southwestern suburbs. Guerrero-Cuellar replaces Ed Kodatt, who resigned under pressure after allegations of “inappropriate conduct.”
The saga of replacing former House Speaker Michael Madigan in the General Assembly appears to finally be settled.
Following Sunday’s appointment of 13th Ward aide Edward Guerra Kodatt, he was pushed to resign by Madigan and 13th Ward Alderman Marty Quinn to resign following undisclosed “alleged questionable conduct.” Kodatt resigned following less than 72 hours in office.
Thursday, in a meeting lasting just five minutes, Democratic officials appointed 39-year-old Angie Guerrero-Cuellar to fill the rest of Madigan’s term.
Guerrero-Cuellar, a mother of two, joked she never could have imagined how the events of the week could have played out.
“I’m still processing. This is a lot that’s happened in the last 48 hours,” she told reporters after she was selected Thursday. “At least with pregnancy you have nine months to prepare, and this is not something I was really prepared for.”
Guerrero-Cuellar has most recently worked in contact tracing and community outreach for a non-profit called Envision Community Services. She has spent ten years working in fundraising, mostly for non-profits like the United Neighborhood Organization and the Chicago Children’s Advocacy Center. She says she will likely resign her current job to focus on work as a legislator.
She also previously tested for the Chicago Police Department, but never joined the force. She says her husband is a CPD officer.
She has no specific political work experience or work as part of Madigan’s 13th Ward organization. She was originally nominated by Alderwoman Silvana Tabares. In fact, Guerrero-Cuellar says, she never even met Madigan until Thursday morning.
She was sworn in with her children and mother at her side.
“I’m a daughter of immigrants. My mom made a decision many years ago to come to this country, not knowing what would be her future,” she said, fighting back tears. “I had her stand next to me when I took that oath because this position is not about me, it’s about her and the choices that she made and my dad made.”
Guerrero-Cuellar praised Governor JB Pritzker’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, even though it caused “economic hardship” for some members of her community. She listed two ZIP codes in the district which, she said, had some of the highest infection rates in the city.
Madigan, meanwhile, would not discuss the allegations against Kodatt or why he encouraged the man he originally supported to resign.
