Michael Madigan

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Michael Madigan (2013)

Michael J. Madigan (born April 19, 1942 in Chicago , Illinois ) is an American politician of the Democratic Party . Except for a short break mid-1990s he has been since 1983 as Speaker Chairman of the House of Representatives from Illinois , where he continuously since 1971 as deputy belongs. He is also currently chairman of the Illinois Democratic Party .

Life

Madigan studied law and worked for Richard J. Daley , longtime mayor of his hometown Chicago , in the mid-1960s . In the town hall he was mainly entrusted with legal issues. After that he also worked for some time as a lawyer in a law firm that he ran with a friend. In November 1970, Madigan, who is a supporter of the Democrats like his entire family, was elected to the Illinois House of Representatives for the 22nd District . He took up this mandate in January 1971 and has since been confirmed as a directly elected member every two years .

Due to his good network, Madigan was elected speaker in 1983 and thus took over the chairmanship of the Parliamentary Chamber. With the exception of the legislative period from 1995 to 1997, he still holds this office today. During these two years he had to temporarily relinquish the post of President of Parliament to Republican Lee A. Daniels , as his Republicans succeeded for the first time in decades to win a majority of the seats. However, as a minority leader , he retained the chairmanship of the democratic group. Since the Republicans lost their majority seat two years later, Madigan was able to take over the office of President of Parliament again in 1997. As a speaker, Madigan has gained a great deal of influence in state politics over the years. He also clashed with various governors , both with republican and with democratic heads of government. Although his position would make him a natural candidate for governor, Madigan never sought the highest office in the state himself. In the press he was often described as the "de facto governor of Illinois" because of his influence in legislation. In addition, Madigan currently holds the office of chairman within the Democratic Party in Illinois, which in Germany is more like a managing director than a party chairman.

While Madigan got along well with Republican Governor George Ryan (1999-2003), his relationship with his Democratic successor Rod Blagojevich was subject to considerable tension. When a budget crisis struck the state in 2007, Blagojevich publicly blamed Madigan, who then refused to speak to the governor for two months. In particular, Madigan's proposed healthcare cuts were unacceptable to Blagojevich. Just a few months later, a public dispute broke out again when the governor dismissed the wife of Madigan's chief of staff from an office in the family ministry. Blagojevich justified this with the poor qualification of the woman. But since she had already worked in the ministry for more than two decades and never attracted negative attention, the governor's decision was publicly viewed as an act of revenge against the speaker. In the dispute between Madigan and Blagojevich, both US Senator Dick Durbin and the parliamentary group leaders of both parties in the State Senate were forced to mediate personally. In the winter of 2008/09, Madigan supported the impeachment proceedings against the governor, who was removed unanimously in January 2009 with the votes of the House of Representatives and the State Senate. Blagojevich had been accused of wanting to “sell” the US Senate seat he had to fill , which Barack Obama resigned after his election as US President (Blagojevich was later sentenced to prison).

Working with the new governor Pat Quinn , also a Democrat, was easier. At the beginning of 2011, both politicians agreed on a temporary increase in income tax in order to cope with the budget deficit . These were decided in the same year and expired at the beginning of 2015. However, with the state still grappling with a house gap, Madigan spoke out in favor of extending or increasing sales tax . This failed, however, due to massive opposition from Republican governor Bruce Rauner , who took office in January 2015. Then another month-long dispute over the budget flared up. Several budget drafts promoted by Madigan were blocked by Rauner with a veto , as Rauner categorically refuses to accept new debt. Its rejection, for which a two-thirds majority is required, would only be possible with the help of a few Republican MPs. So far, however, they have backed the governor, who was also backed by a handful of Democrats. For his part, Madigan and a majority of his parliamentary group reject the deregulation of the economy and spending cuts proposed by Rauner . In the summer of 2016, Rauner Madigan publicly accused of failure in the budget dispute. The governor also reiterated his demand for legal term limits for electoral offices in Illinois, which he sees as a reason for a "blockade policy".

Private

Michael Madigan is married and has four children. His adopted daughter Lisa has been Attorney General in Illinois since 2003 . He belongs to the Catholic Church .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Michael Madigan in: The 100 most powerful Chicagoans , chicagomag.com (English)
  2. ↑ State budget talks give way to stalls, stunts , The Southern, July 16, 2007 (English)
  3. ↑ Mr. Unpopularity , chicagomag.com, January 17, 2008 (English)
  4. ^ Madigan budget: $ 700 million more for schools; Rauner ally says plan is $ 7 billion short , Chicago Tribune, May 26, 2016
  5. ↑ House Democrats Defy Governor Rauner, Push Own Budget , CBS News, May 25, 2016 (English)
personal data
SURNAME Madigan, Michael
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Madigan, Michael J.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American politician
DATE OF BIRTH April 19, 1942
PLACE OF BIRTH Chicago , Illinois