The little-known legislative rules that govern the legislative process in the Illinois House of Representatives give the House speaker extraordinary power to orchestrate the legislative or political outcomes he or she wants. Those rules allow the speaker to influence the makeup of legislative committees; how lawmakers vote; and when, if ever, the bills get voted...

The defiance of certain Democrats in the General Assembly shows House Speaker Mike Madigan’s stranglehold on power is weakening.

In the history of the United States, no one has led a state legislative body longer than Mike Madigan.