Despite attacks, Mike Madigan did much for Illinois and the Southwest region
Mike Madigan helped taxpayers, helped families & children, helped workers, helped crime victims, helped homeowners & helped seniors. But media only reports on how he helped his allies
By Ray Hanania
FREE/Politics Illinois/Monday August 12, 2024
I remember when Mike Madigan was the powerful Speaker of the Illinois House and the journalists would swarm around him to get his favor to comment on stories.
Madigan is probably the most influential elected official in Illinois, pushing legislation through the House to benefit not only the state but the region where he lived.
Though he was the "Speaker" representing the Democratic Party statewide, he was also a legislator from the Southwest Side of Chicago representing the 22nd District, and he was the Democratic Committeeman of the 13th Ward, one of city's 50 wards that produced more votes than most others.
Voter turnout in the 13th Ward was always very high, as in the neighboring 23rd Ward and several others, suggesting residents were actively engaged in government, unlike in most other wards, and recognized voting ensured their neighborhoods remained safe and prosperous.
Madigan is described in biographies as being "the longest-serving leader of any state or federal legislative body in the history of the United States, having held the position for all but two years from 1983 to 2021.
Yet today, despite more than 50 years in the legislature, including 36 as Speaker, you will only hear about one controversy in which he is being attacked for engaging in the most fundamental aspect of American Democracy, supporting those who support you.
That is Rule Number One in America politics, no matter where you come from, what party, or the essence of your beliefs: You help those who support you and are wary of those who wish to bring you down. Every politician does that in America, in Illinois and in Chicagoland.
We have seen the world change, as well-meaning expressions in the past today are interpreted as being derogatory and offensive. Things we did or said before are today frowned on and cast in a negative light, even though they were not negative at all.
The accusations against Madigan are meaningless to the interests of taxpayers but have everything to do with politics.
But what DOES have meaning to taxpayers is what Madigan did for them while he was in public office.
It would take a book to detail everything Madigan did for the taxpayers and homeowners, but the books that have been written don't really care about the taxpayers at all, or an honest look at his career, of course.
Having known Madigan for most of those 50 years, as a columnist who criticized and praised him, I saw a pattern of public service that we don't see too often, one that put the interests of the taxpayers and homeowners above all else.
He championed criminal justice reform, leading the fight to require videotaped confessions, supported the end of the death penalty and commonsense criminal justice reform to protect law-abiding citizens, not the criminals, under the "Crime Victims Bill of Rights."
Imagine that. We used to have someone who cared about crime victims, rather than the criminals.
He pushed laws to require better training for police and required the wearing of body cameras.
Madigan returned $1 billion to ratepayers in the fight against the greed of the power companies, and pushed legislation to require that part of a state's electricity come from renewable energy sources.
He pushed laws that requiring employers to make public notice BEFORE closing or laying off employees, giving employees the ability to fight back.
Madigan strengthened Middle Class families and the low income, pushing hikes in the minimum wage than to $15, expanded Child Care Assistance eligibility in 2018, and created and expanded the "Earned Income Tax Credit."
He blocked the drive to eliminate the prevailing wage requirements for workers paid for by tax dollars and prevented the gutting of the state's unions.
On healthcare, Madigan expanded Medicare to help low-income residents get healthcare, expanded the Community Care Program that helps seniors, checked rising drug costs, and passed laws requiring care for people with pre-existing conditions. He created the KidCare program in 1998 to help children and newborn babies, and the FamilyCare program in 2002 to expand coverage
He led efforts to pass the Marriage Equality Act/civil unions legislation, recognized rights for transgenders, and banned "conversion therapy," a form of mental torture.
He fought against predatory lending, banking abuses, protected mortgage holders, and fought for the rights of consumers.
Sadly, you won't hear much about any of this today. How he helped taxpayers. How he helped families and children. How he helped workers. How he helped crime victims. How he helped homeowners. How he helped seniors.
You'll only hear a twisted version of how he helped people who supported his agenda to help the taxpayers.