Decades of institutionalized financial mismanagement left Illinois with the nation’s worst fiscal health. Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan has been at the center of nearly every bad decision along the way.
With Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan reportedly short of the 60 votes needed to hold on to the speakership, Illinois House members will have to line up behind a new candidate before they can get down to business.
Illinois averaged over one federal public corruption conviction a week during the Madigan era. That is the most convictions per capita among the top 10 most populous states between 1983 and 2018.
Illinois legislative maps are drawn by state lawmakers who pick their voters, instead of the other way around. Without independent mapmaking, nothing will be changed by Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s threat to veto a partisan map.
Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan has funded a lot of campaigns – and his legal defense – with money from government unions. Even if unions still back him in the New Year, members have options.
COVID-19 showed everyone the heroes in health care and essential services, but it also exposed weak character or bad behavior of many in Illinois government.
Chicago’s $1.15 billion projected budget gap is the latest in a decades-long string of structural deficits. Making Chicago’s high taxes worse is not the solution.