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* A News-Gazette editorial discusses the potential 2018 Democratic candidates for governor and concludes…
Serious candidates should ask themselves: “How badly do I want to be governor if Mike Madigan is really calling the shots?”
It’s a good question. Pat Quinn was widely viewed as hapless, and that was at least partly the result of him never figuring out how to constructively engage with the House Speaker - and a lot of that falls on Madigan himself.
After Madigan lost the majority in 1994, he pledged to change his ways if he regained power. And he mostly did. He worked with Jim Edgar for the next two years and George Ryan for four years. And he cooperated with Rod Blagojevich for a year after Blagojevich’s first election. But then, it all went downhill.
Frankly, I have no idea why Dick Durbin or anybody else would want to endure the brutality of a campaign against a deep-pocketed Bruce Rauner for a year only to wind up getting the tar knocked out of them by MJM for the next four years.
posted by Rich Miller
Thursday, Aug 4, 16 @ 1:25 pm
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Yep. Why would Durbin want it with Madigan there? Hoping for a Madigan retirement, but I highly doubt that will happen.
Comment by Ducky LaMoore Thursday, Aug 4, 16 @ 1:32 pm
I wish they’d retire together.
Comment by A guy Thursday, Aug 4, 16 @ 1:34 pm
Could not agree more.
Comment by Belle Thursday, Aug 4, 16 @ 1:37 pm
I don’t see Durbin giving up the exclusive U S Senate Club, and all that free foreign travel.. I think if you ask Jim Thompson, Jim Edgar, and George Ryan they could all tell you how easy it was to work with MJM.. there is a simple formula
Comment by Not Rich Thursday, Aug 4, 16 @ 1:49 pm
Maybe we’ll get lucky and get a governor in step with Madigan.
I mean, there’s not a requirement they be antagonists.
Comment by Formerly Known as Frenchie M Thursday, Aug 4, 16 @ 1:50 pm
Doubt Durbin would repeat the Blagoof mistake of mskin’ Madigan the Boogeyman. All might fine. Why would run? One word, Schumer
Comment by Annonin' Thursday, Aug 4, 16 @ 1:54 pm
Formerly French,
….his daughter has repeatedly said no. lol
Comment by A guy Thursday, Aug 4, 16 @ 1:54 pm
Why can’t Rauner just start having Breakfast with Madigan three days a week? Not even talk politics. Talk about the weather, baseball, apple pie, their families, etc etc. I heard once that Edgar did that, and was able to get more done (at least it seems that way) than anyone else has been able to.
Comment by Saluki Thursday, Aug 4, 16 @ 1:56 pm
I hope Bruce noticed what happened in Kansas this week.
It sure seems that the citizens there made it clear that they wanted a cutback in Socialist Entitlements for Business and the Top 1% of Wage Earners.
Comment by Doug Simpson Thursday, Aug 4, 16 @ 1:57 pm
===Why can’t Rauner just start having Breakfast with Madigan three days a week? ===
Quinn tried that. Didn’t work.
Comment by Rich Miller Thursday, Aug 4, 16 @ 2:02 pm
Doug Simpson how is Connecticut doing which is run by the head of the Democratic governors association? Governor Malloy is the second least popular at 29% approval. Illinois has a lot more in common with Connecticut than Kansas. Rauner wants to raise taxes as long as he gets some reforms
Comment by Lucky Pierre Thursday, Aug 4, 16 @ 2:06 pm
I think a Durbin election or any Democratic win makes a Madigan retirement more likely. If Rauner gets re-elected Madigan would more likely stay, I think he views it as a function of his accumulated power to stand up to Rauner. Just look at the Speaker’s recent comments, he clearly thinks that’s his job.
If Rauner is defeated by the Democrats, Madigan may call it a victory and walk away.
Of course not even Durbin or anyone else knows what he will really do - but I think he could retire if a Democrat wins. it’s his misison to stick it to this guy
Comment by siriusly Thursday, Aug 4, 16 @ 2:07 pm
If the premise is that Madigan doesn’t want to get things done as Speaker to move the state forward, I disagree. I think he has some very clear ideas of how to go about this. Rod Blagojevich, Pat Quinn and obviously Bruce Rauner have their own ideas. Hard to blame Madigan for not embracing goals that conflict with his own agenda. That’s politics.
And the News Gazette sounds like its concern trolling the Democrats. Any candidate seeking the nomination would be wise to meet with Madigan and try to learn from him what his agenda is and what his priorities are. That will go a long way to informing a Dick Durbin or Chris Kennedy or Toni Preckwinkle or whoever whether Madigan is someone they can work with or will have to work around.
Madigan is certainly a mercurial cat, to be sure, but in my experience, he’s been pretty open about how he thinks the state should operate.
Comment by 47th Ward Thursday, Aug 4, 16 @ 2:09 pm
===…anybody else would want to endure the brutality of a campaign against a deep-pocketed Bruce Rauner for a year only to wind up getting the tar knocked out of them by MJM for the next four years.===
“No good deed goes unpunished”?
I’ve probably spent more time thinking about a Durbin-Rauner matchup then it probably deserves. The avalanche of negative ads that Durbin would face, especially if Hillary Clinton won and this is her off-year… man.
Durbin would need an absolute clear field and begin to take on Rauner in Feburary, still maybe a month behind Rauner in ads as Rauner begins his rehabilitation of the negatives Rauner now has.
Rauner spent $60+ million to defeat Quinn, $20 million from his own kitty.
It’s so tough to defeat a sitting Illinois governor, and at a rate of $80 million, if Rauner goes “cheap”
…
Then, after the trashing and ruining of a career, and the open wounds still healing, you sit down with Speaker Madigan, in hopes it “may work out”?
I mean, Dante’s Inferno type of quest-ing… to a Divine Comedy?
Comment by Oswego Willy Thursday, Aug 4, 16 @ 2:12 pm
@Lucky Pierre:
How is Minnesota doing? Since they’ve made draconian cutbacks in Corporate Welfare they sure seem to be doing well, compared to their neighbor just to the east.
If by “Reforms” you mean that the economy will grow by leaps and bounds if everyone earned less money, I’m not interested.
Comment by Doug Simpson Thursday, Aug 4, 16 @ 2:21 pm
Yeah, the formula to get stuff done with Madigan is just help the people who fund his campaigns, then he is perfectly happy. It’s really easy, you can even go on-line to find the list.
Comment by Not It Thursday, Aug 4, 16 @ 2:36 pm
Hmmmm….I might consider giving Bruce a run for his money by running against him. Doesn’t matter that I don’t have any previous political experience, Bruce didn’t either.
Comment by Anonymous Thursday, Aug 4, 16 @ 2:54 pm
“Mercurial cat”–I like that! Plus it reminds me of a tune: think “material girl.” Can someone skillful craft some Illinois-appropriate lyrics?
Comment by The Historian Thursday, Aug 4, 16 @ 3:11 pm
It’s been interesting to observe the anti-Madigan turn of this blog and CapFax since Rauner became governor. That doesn’t mean you aren’t criticizing Rauner, just that quarter is no longer being given at all as it pertains to the Speaker and efforts of those against him.
To cite only one recent example: the reporting on the McAuliffe TV buy left out important details that readers needed to evaluate the significance: how much, what stations, how long? It was mostly R(auner) spin.
Further, this post contradicts itself. The Speaker was able to work with previous governors, but he had difficulty with the last three (a criminal, an incompetent, and a belligerent with an agenda far different from the moderate course he campaigned upon).
Don’t get me wrong, CapFax is a daily read, but in the many years I’ve been reading and paying for it, this change in viewpoint is a real noticeable difference.
Comment by Moe Berg Thursday, Aug 4, 16 @ 3:12 pm
>Further, this post contradicts itself. The Speaker was able to work with previous governors, but he had difficulty with the last three (a criminal, an incompetent, and a belligerent with an agenda far different from the moderate course he campaigned upon).
Agree
Comment by Earnest Thursday, Aug 4, 16 @ 3:54 pm
What other Speaker of the House could be a match for Governor Rauner?
Comment by Mama Thursday, Aug 4, 16 @ 4:10 pm
Moe Berg, you nailed it 100%
Comment by ILPundit Thursday, Aug 4, 16 @ 8:58 pm
Moe Berg and IL Pundit: I thought it was just me that felt that way. Was it the puppy dates?
Comment by downstate commissioner Thursday, Aug 4, 16 @ 9:59 pm