Someday, someone will write a book about House Speaker Michael Madigan. It will not be flattering. It will talk about how Madigan enriched himself and his allies through questionable practices, “legal” in Illinois but somewhere between “illegal” and “unethical” everywhere else. It will talk about his iron grip on the Illinois Democratic Party and particularly its purse strings. It will talk about how, while he often avoided “voting” on property tax issues (since that is where he makes his money), he controlled where legislation that threatened his revenue stream would end up.
When that book is written it will mention others as well, those who enabled and sustained Madigan and those who fought to free Illinois from his tyranny. It will cover the efforts thousands of people to free themselves with petitions which would remove the ability to draw district lines that favored one party. It will talk about how the efforts of hundreds of thousands were deemed “unconstitutional” by judges heavily supported by Madigan. I hope it uses lots of names, for the heroes who have tried to save Illinois, and for the villains who have allowed Madigan to take one of the largest states in the country and put it on the road to economic disaster and population decline.
There are Democrats oblivious to this. There are others who see it and willingly support the corruption. What Illinois needs are more Democrats who see the damage that is being done and who are willing to vote for change.
— Bill Bloom, Moline, Ill.
