Speaker Madigan’s downfall could be his failure to change with the times
On Page 9 of last week’s federal indictment of four people accused of conspiring to bribe House Speaker Michael Madigan with favors from ComEd is this heading: “Defendants and Relevant Individuals.”
But the first person listed is not one of the defendants. “Public Official A was the Speaker of the House of Representatives,” the list begins.
The feds don’t just throw these things together like some college freshman who’s late with a term paper. Indictments, particularly in political cases, are often carefully crafted in order to send a message. So, it obviously ain’t good when you’re at the very top of the government’s defendant list and you’re not even a defendant.
It’s also not exactly great when your former consigliere and most trusted friend Mike McClain is indicted along with other oncepowerful people in your orbit for conspiring to bribe you.
And that’s a big reason we’ve seen so many House Democrats declare in the past several days that they will not vote to re- elect Madigan
Quite a few people, including attorneys I’ve spoken with, appear to agree with McClain’s lawyer that the feds are “attempting to rewrite the law on bribery and criminalize long- recognized legitimate, common, and normal lobbying activity into some new form of crime.”
They may have a valid legal point. McClain and the others might be able to beat this rap. I don’t know. I’ve seen others make that claim and fail.
But, c’mon, the stuff in the indictment isn’t “common” or “normal,” at least outside Madigan’s 13th Ward.
The amount of time spent obsessing over 10 summer internships for kids in Madigan’s ward ( some of whom didn’t even qualify) bordered on farce. My “favorite” part of the indictment was when ComEd was essentially warned not to count those interns against the number of patronage jobs the company was doling out to the ward.
And how many political organizations successfully install precinct captains into no- show contract jobs in this day and age? Also, how many state legislators think they can install someone on a utility’s board of directors?
Like any unfettered, unquestioned bureaucracy, they took their mission to an absurd extreme. And, this time, it resulted in indictments.
Up until now, Madigan has been the most adaptive and adept politician I’ve ever seen. You don’t stick around for 48 years by remaining stagnant, I suppose.
He began his career as a typical tough- on- crime, socially conservative, Southwest Side Irish Catholic. He’s since become pro- choice, voted for both gay marriage and to abolish the death penalty and backed up the Black Caucus in its difficult years- long effort to block criminal penalty enhancement legislation. He spent years defending the rights of trial lawyers, then pushed through a medical malpractice reform bill when the issue started hurting his members. He went after the public employee unions over their pensions when he felt he had to, then united all unions like never before when the state elected an anti- union governor.
At his most recent low point, Madigan quickly committed to “change the culture” in the House during the 2018 sexual harassment scandals. He saved his own skin at a time when lots of folks thought he wouldn’t make it through.
But he has insisted since the ComEd scandal broke that he believes it’s not only his right to help people find jobs and contracts, it’s actually his duty. There would be no change to that particular culture he created. There’d be no “evolving” as he’d done on so many other issues. And for good reason.
Madigan’s machine is old school. It runs on patronage. And he needs a lot of patronage to keep his huge machine humming. He’s always on the hunt for opportunities, and his people love him for taking care of them, and are fiercely and forever loyal.
But patronage is supposed to be a means to an end of running successful political campaigns, and it unfortunately appeared to become an end in and of itself.
The favors culture Madigan created led to ComEd’s deferred prosecution agreement, and that DPA led to last week’s indictments of his close associates, and those indictments led to an even larger member revolt which appears, as I write this, to be about to remove the gavel from Madigan’s hands.
The old- timers said that Dan Rostenkowski, George Ryan and others got themselves in trouble because they didn’t change with the times. Madigan was supposed to be different. And he actually was for many years. Until now.
MOON ALERT: There are no restrictions to shopping or important decisions today. The moon is in Pisces.
IF TODAY IS YOUR BIRTHDAY: Actor Mads Mikkelsen ( 1965) shares your birthday. You march to the beat of your own drum. You are both playful and serious. Your personal integrity is important to you. Because you are entering a new cycle, it means it’s time to define some future goals to determine what you want for yourself in the next few years. Be confident and physically energetic about going after what you want. Just do it!
Aries ( March 21- April 19): This is an interesting day for your sign because secrets might come out.
Taurus ( April 20- May 20): You might make a new friend. Or possibly, you will encounter someone unusual. Gemini ( May 21- June 20): Relations with bosses, parents, teachers and the police will hold a few surprises. Cancer ( June 21- July 22): Travel plans might fall in your lap. Alternatively, travel plans might be canceled. Leo ( July 23- Aug. 22): Double check details concerning banking, wills, inheritances and shared property. Virgo ( Aug. 23- Sept. 22): The moon is opposite your sign, which means you have to be accommodating. Libra ( Sept. 23- Oct. 22): Something related to your health, your pet, or possibly your job will surprise you. Scorpio ( Oct. 23- Nov. 21): Parents should know that this is an accident- prone day for your kids ( mildly). Sagittarius ( Nov. 22- Dec. 21): Something unusual or unexpected will impact your home routine.
Capricorn ( Dec. 22- Jan. 19): This is an exciting day, which means you might encounter new faces and new places. Aquarius ( Jan. 20- Feb. 18): Keep an eye on your money. You might find money; you might lose money. Pisces ( Feb. 19- March 20): You want to shake things up a bit and jolt others out of their velvet rut.