Reaction to the resignation of Mike Madigan after 50 years in the Illinois House of Representatives, and 36 years as Speaker until last month, included praise and slings. Here is a sampling:
Gov. JB Pritzker:
“When you dedicate your career to public service, it’s your loved ones who make the biggest sacrifices – whether it’s because you’re away from home, working long hours or spending time with constituents. Michael J. Madigan and his family dedicated countless hours to serving Illinois families, particularly during the Rauner years, when he served as the bulwark against constant cruelty to the most vulnerable.
"Over his decades in office, he shepherded through some of the most consequential changes to our state: bringing about the legalization of gay marriage, fighting on the frontlines for workers’ rights, raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour, expanding access to voting and protecting women’s reproductive rights. The people of Illinois have much to be grateful for thanks to his dedicated public service, and the many sacrifices he and his family made to make a difference in our lives. I know how dearly he loves his wife Shirley, their children and grandchildren, and I hope that in this next chapter, his family can begin to make up for lost time.”
Illinois Republican Party chair Don Tracy:
"Chairman Madigan's legacy is that of presiding over the decline of a once great state, ballooning pension liabilities by hundreds of billions of dollars, and the accumulation of historic political power that primarily benefited government insiders and special interests. Chairman Madigan may no longer be a state representative, but he is still Chairman of the Democratic Party of Illinois where he personally controls over $15 million in campaign cash."
State Rep. Charlie Meier (R-Okawville):
“This is good news for the people of Illinois. Although Madigan may be retiring from the House. He still has a grip on the Democrat majority in the state. It’s time for the state to look ahead and I hope Madigan stays in the rearview mirror.”
Austin Berg, vice president of marketing at Illinois Policy Institute:
"Former Speaker Madigan cut his teeth in the Daley political machine, and followed in the footsteps of his political mentors to the detriment of Illinois – accumulating a massive political war chest and building an unmatched patronage army, all financed by the worst state and local debt crisis in the nation.
“It’s time to fix the corrupt, failed institutions that fueled Madigan’s unprecedented accumulation of power. Now that Madigan is gone we have no excuse not to deal with the laws that allow for lawmakers to leave office and immediately become lobbyists, or even to lobby while still in office; we have no excuse not to enact fair maps; we have no excuse not to deal with a constitution that puts pensions above all other public services Illinoisans rely on. Ending the Madigan Machine means putting a nail in the coffin on corruption and fixing the pension crisis once and for all."