* One reason for Jason Gonzales’ lawsuit against House Speaker Michael Madigan is that Madigan allegedly packed the 2016 spring primary ballot with other Latinos to dilute Gonzales’ vote. But, if you read the deposition, not only does Madigan deny involvement in the scheme, he says the Latino angle never even came up in meetings.
I really find this difficult to believe. It’s how the game has been played forever in Chicago. A black person files against you, then you bring other black people into the primary. A woman files, you bring in more women. And that’s been especially true with Latino challengers over the years.
From Madigan’s deposition…
Q And what decisions, if any, were made regarding the strategy towards these other candidates, if you recall?
A Our basic strategy was to identify the people that are going to vote for me and identify them and get them voted, that was our basic strategy.
Q Well, that’s every campaign strategy.
A Yes.
Q Did you look at the demographic back — breakdown of the population in the 22nd District?
A That was not a consideration in the conduct of the campaign.
Q Were you aware that the District was in excess of 70 percent Hispanic in Primary of March 2016?
A I’ve never heard that it was 70 percent. At the time of drafting, it was about 60 percent.
Q When you say at the time of drafting, you’re referring to redistricting?
A Yes.
Q And that would have been in 2010, six years before, correct?
A Probably 2011.
Q ‘11. And would you agree that the District has progressively trended more and more Hispanic over the years?
A Yes
Q So were you concerned about having a Hispanic opponent Jason Gonzales?
A No.
Q Why not?
A Because I know of my own knowledge that I have widespread support among Hispanic people in the District.
Q So you were not concerned?
A About what?
Q About a Hispanic candidate running against you in the primary?
A I was concerned about Bruce Rauner, that’s what I was concerned with.
Q I’m not asking you about Bruce Rauner. I’m asking you about Jason Gonzales.
A No, you asked me what I was concerned with. I’m telling you. I was concerned with all the money that Bruce Rauner was going to bring into the election, that’s what I was concerned with.
Q So were you concerned that the money that Bruce Rauner was going to bring into the 22nd District election where you were running for re-election would be brought in on behalf of Jason Gonzales?
A Yes.
Q So what were you going to do about that?
A We were going to make sure that the voters in the District knew that Bruce Rauner was on the scene and that he was supporting Jason Gonzales because Bruce Rauner is not a popular person in the 22nd District.
Q As part of your re-election strategy that you developed with these other individuals Marty Quinn, Will Cousineau, Tim Mapes, Steve Brown, yourself, did you discuss bringing in other Hispanic candidates into the 22nd District Primary Race?
A The answer is no.
Q There were two other primary District –22nd District Hispanic candidates in that race other than Jason Gonzales, right?
A The answer is yes.
Q Did you have anything to do with those candidates getting on the ballot?
A We learned about those candidates, again, by word-of-mouth, and we made a judgment that was advantageous to me that there would be multiple candidates in the Democratic Primary. My judgment was at the beginning that not every participant in the Democratic Primary was going to vote for me and the statistic proved that out. So when we learned that there were others that were contemplating candidacies, we thought that would be helpful to my campaign. It would be advantageous to my campaign.
Q So you realized that it would be to your political advantage on election day March of 2016 to have additional Hispanic candidates besides Jason Gonzales on the ballot?
A Not Hispanic, just multiple candidates. And so you study election returns, I study returns, and you know that in my case for certain not every applicant for a ballot in the Democratic Primary is going to vote for me. And, therefore, in a Primary Election it’s advantageous to me to have multiple candidates.
So, those two unknown Latino candidates just happened to be concerned citizens who decided on their own to run against one of the most powerful Democrats in the history of the state at the same time some big outside money was lining up behind a third Latino candidate? How fortuitous for Madigan. Such a charmed life he leads. I never realized before how a guy with a reputation for carefully analyzing every possible angle relied so heavily on pure, dumb luck.
And nobody of consequence in that part of the world ever so much as uttered the idea of splitting up the Latino vote to prevent Gov. Rauner’s allies from making a serious run at Madigan?
Right.
…Adding… Also, just to be clear, Madigan’s operation carried the petitions for those two other Latino candidates from Chicago to Springfield on filing day. Just another coinkydink.
- Oswego Willy - Friday, Feb 1, 19 @ 10:32 am:
Happenstance… happens?
- Flat Bed Ford - Friday, Feb 1, 19 @ 10:35 am:
If you believe this I have some ice for sale today at an amazing price. Better buy before it’s gone.
- Steve - Friday, Feb 1, 19 @ 10:44 am:
This lawsuit brings into the spotlight who works closely with Mike Madigan. What will be interesting is if some of the names show up in other investigations in the coming months.
- Chicago 20 - Friday, Feb 1, 19 @ 10:49 am:
It’s just math.
If the district is 70% Hispanic, there is a 70% chance that a Hispanic or Hispanics would run for the seat.
This isn’t Madigan’s first rodeo.
- 47th Ward - Friday, Feb 1, 19 @ 10:50 am:
Presumably somebody has checked and double checked the petitions filed by the other two Latino candidates, searching for signs of Madigan’s involvement, circulators, notaries, etc.
I’m going to assume for the sake of argument that no connection was discovered, and now Madigan denies it in a deposition. Unless Peraica gets one of those candidates to testify, this is a dead end regardless of whether or not it’s true.
The only way this blows up is if now, after we have MJM on record with his denial, somebody finds hard evidence to the contrary. That would have to be either one of the other candidates contradicting him or someone on the inside flipping. Neither scenario is likely.
So this is all salacious innuendo and speculation. OTOH, weird that the time honored tactic of loading up the ballot, which has worked so well for so long for so many incumbents, was NOT used in this particular race by the guys who perfected the system in the first place.
Mike Madigan is Keyser Soze.
- Three Dimensional Checkers - Friday, Feb 1, 19 @ 10:51 am:
Who is paying for the Ms. Rodriguez’s and Ms. Tabares’ attorneys?
- Lincoln Lad - Friday, Feb 1, 19 @ 10:53 am:
I must be missing the illegality in any of this…
- Downstate - Friday, Feb 1, 19 @ 10:53 am:
How often do campaigns agree to deliver petitions to Springfield for their opponent(s)?
No one, and I mean no one, can criticize his constituent services.
- Rich Miller - Friday, Feb 1, 19 @ 10:56 am:
===missing the illegality===
The claim is a civil rights violation.
- Rich Miller - Friday, Feb 1, 19 @ 10:59 am:
===was NOT used in this particular race===
It’s way too early in the day to be drinking that much.
- The Way I See It - Friday, Feb 1, 19 @ 11:00 am:
The question that where he denied having the conversation with his aides was inartfully phrased. Had that line of questioning been better phrased, there may have been a different answer.
- Juvenal - Friday, Feb 1, 19 @ 11:00 am:
Chicago 20 -
The math is a little more severe than that.
The odds of an Irish Catholic running against Madigan are severely small.
In fact, if you have any hope of beating Madigan, you kinda have to hope that you can attract all of those new strivers in the ward that have not been voting for Madigan for 40 years.
It kinda makes you wonder whether Rauner and Hill recruited Gonzales because he is Latino?
And honestly, even if Gonzales had gotten all of the anti-Madigan votes, he still would have lost. It seems like a pointless line of inquiry.
- wordslinger - Friday, Feb 1, 19 @ 11:00 am:
I’d say that would make Madigan’s categorical denials of involvement a lie.
Perhaps he believes he’s had enough buffers involved to deny direct involvement, but it doesn’t pass the common sense test.
- Anonymous - Friday, Feb 1, 19 @ 11:05 am:
At this point it’s not a question of whether he lied in a sworn deposition, but whether enough will pop up to be able to prove it.
- Century Club - Friday, Feb 1, 19 @ 11:05 am:
I wonder, do they need to prove Madigan intended to disenfranchise Latino voters, or just that his actions caused them to be disenfranchised?
Madigan basically cops to helping other candidates get on the ballot, but denies trying to split the Latino vote specifically. It seems like a fine line to draw in a District that is super majority Latino.
- low level - Friday, Feb 1, 19 @ 11:10 am:
I am missing the illegal nature as well and am not seeing a civil rights violation. A civil rights violation to me would have been his refusal to assist Hispanic constituents. Saying that putting other latinos on the ballot may be shady, but its a fairy tale to suggest its illegal imo.
- Pot calling kettle - Friday, Feb 1, 19 @ 11:15 am:
==And nobody of consequence in that part of the world ever so much as uttered the idea of splitting up the Latino vote==
After decades of doing this kind of stuff, I think they do it without discussion. Everyone knows what to do without being told.
- Pyrman - Friday, Feb 1, 19 @ 11:18 am:
Pretty easy explanation—friends of MJM recruited the other candidates without any conversation or encouragement from MJM. Keeping the candidate in the dark about certain things is a time honored process.
- My New Handle - Friday, Feb 1, 19 @ 11:18 am:
If you can’t damage a person’s reputation with facts, do it with innuendo.
- MG85 - Friday, Feb 1, 19 @ 11:21 am:
It looks like the timeline will matter. If Madigan’s folks did carry petitions for two other candidates, I think it’s a fair question to ask what happened first.
Did Madigan (and his machine) recruit other Hispanic candidates and perform work for them
or
Did those candidates decide to run (without Madigan’s influence) and then when Madigan found out, thought their entry into the primary was advantageous to him and decided to help alleviate their burden to get into the race.
And, a heavier lift is discovering from the other two candidates that they were brought into the race on behalf of Madigan.
And, even if it is discovered that he did (in some incremental way), he has to prove this was discriminatory.
It is quite an argument to say that Madigan discriminated against Gonzalez on the basis of his race by encouraging more Hispanics to run for the same office. Sure, it is a tactic to prevent Gonzalez from winning, but is it because of his race or because of his ties to Rauner? Real or perceived.
To me, that is a really difficult case to prove.
- pool boy - Friday, Feb 1, 19 @ 11:22 am:
The Velvet Hammer also has no knowledge of affidavits revoking the signatures of David Krupa. Amazing the most powerful politician in Illinois has no knowledge or recollection of things that go on in his district and ward.
- Not It - Friday, Feb 1, 19 @ 11:31 am:
I’d rather admit he is a shrewd politican than lie in a deposition.
- Anon - Friday, Feb 1, 19 @ 11:33 am:
Just like that, and for the first time ever, a bunch of liberals couldn’t see a civil rights violation.
- Ginhouse Tommy - Friday, Feb 1, 19 @ 11:34 am:
I don’t see the outrage. To me it just seems like politics as usual in Illinois. I don’t like it but they always seem to getaway with it and there’s not much we can do about it. Pretty sad. I guess I’m too jaded.
- Barrington - Friday, Feb 1, 19 @ 11:38 am:
Gonzalez’s attorney is Tony Peraica. Lots of bad blood between Madigan and Peraica concerning property tax appeals. Who is paying attorney fees? Hard to separate personal animosity from merits of case.
- NoGifts - Friday, Feb 1, 19 @ 11:38 am:
Interesting claim that getting more hispanics on the ballot in a hispanic district is a civil rights violation.
- Responsa - Friday, Feb 1, 19 @ 11:41 am:
==So, those two unknown Latino candidates just happened to be concerned citizens who decided on their own to run against one of the most powerful Democrats in the history of the state at the same time some big outside money was lining up behind a third Latino candidate? How fortuitous for Madigan. =
Heh. The ol’ ballot packing for dilution is no secret or surprise to seasoned Chicagoans who watch insider politics. Dead end though it may be, I wonder how the publicity around this lawsuit is playing out in the Latino community. I hope some of them are processing this information and thinking, “hmmmm”.
- Downstate - Friday, Feb 1, 19 @ 11:43 am:
Century Club,
= Madigan basically cops to helping other candidates get on the ballot, but denies trying to split the Latino vote specifically.—
Great point. The bigger challenge is that his people didn’t just load up the ballot. They specifically loaded them up with Hispanic candidates…..potentially denying them representation.
It’s a fine line. But, of course, a civil case only requires a preponderance of evidence, not “beyond a reasonable doubt”.
- 47th Ward - Friday, Feb 1, 19 @ 11:43 am:
===It’s way too early in the day to be drinking that much===
Jusht enjoyin’ the volar portex.
- Oswego Willy - Friday, Feb 1, 19 @ 11:47 am:
To this post, specifically,
In the deposition here, trying to corner MJM, I understand the alleged logic to it, but only understand that logic if there’s evidence, overwhelming or otherwise, that the direct connection exists, and be proven, and then the alleged purjury (usibgvallged for the legal, not the all but seemingly apparent) would then bolster the case and its coverup.
Commander Galloway thinking is asking these questions help in what he believes, I dunno if it goes to something he can prove… yet.
- wordslinger - Friday, Feb 1, 19 @ 11:54 am:
–Great point. The bigger challenge is that his people didn’t just load up the ballot. They specifically loaded them up with Hispanic candidates…..potentially denying them representation–
2016 Primary Results:
Madigan: 66%
Gonzalez: 27%
Barboza: 2%
Rodriguez: 6%
- JS Mill - Friday, Feb 1, 19 @ 12:05 pm:
=I hope some of them are processing this information and thinking, “hmmmm”.=
They are thinking that Jason Gonzalez doesn’t think we are very smart and that Madigan has always taken good care of their district.
- Streatior Curmudgeon - Friday, Feb 1, 19 @ 12:19 pm:
Q So you were not concerned?
A About what?
Q About being sneaky again.
A I was concerned about apples.
Q Apples?
A I’m always concerned about apples. And…because Rauner.
Q Is that a new excuse for you?
A Can you repeat the question? I was daydreaming about apples.
- Chicago 20 - Friday, Feb 1, 19 @ 12:19 pm:
What we have here is a Rauner shill alleging that Madigan had his own shills.
- Cadillac - Friday, Feb 1, 19 @ 12:27 pm:
Can’t help but wonder if a few of those answers would change today - knowing that colleagues were being wired and cell phones were being tapped by the Feds.
- don the legend - Friday, Feb 1, 19 @ 12:35 pm:
===Can’t help but wonder if a few of those answers would change today - knowing that colleagues were being wired and cell phones were being tapped by the Feds. ===
Mike hated phones. Mike hated phones. He wouldn’t have one in his house. He used to get all his calls second hand, then you’d have to call the people back from an outside phone. There were guys, that’s all they did all day long was take care of Mike’s phone call.
- Quizzical - Friday, Feb 1, 19 @ 12:39 pm:
“I didn’t know or care whether they were Hispanic or not, just so they had Hispanic surnames.”
- Cadillac - Friday, Feb 1, 19 @ 12:39 pm:
=== Mike hated phones. Mike hated phones. He wouldn’t have one in his house. He used to get all his calls second hand, then you’d have to call the people back from an outside phone. There were guys, that’s all they did all day long was take care of Mike’s phone call. ===
I get it. I wonder if any of his “guys” ever talked to Ed Burke.
- Groucho - Friday, Feb 1, 19 @ 12:41 pm:
I understand that having more than one Hispanic in the race could dilute the Hispanic vote. While being deceptive, I still don’t see how this is a civil rights violation. Could somebody explain.
- Trapped in the 'burbs - Friday, Feb 1, 19 @ 12:47 pm:
What’s stopping Mr. Gonzalez from running again? Many people beat incumbents after multiple losses to those incumbents. From the results of the primary, it doesn’t look like he had a shot anyway.
- RNUG - Friday, Feb 1, 19 @ 12:54 pm:
== Keeping the candidate in the dark about certain things is a time honored process. ==
There is a phrase for that: plausible deniability.
- Anonymous - Friday, Feb 1, 19 @ 1:01 pm:
“Its how the game has been played forever in Chicago.” So the fact that there is graft and corruption in politics (not in this case, of course) means we should just accept it and move on. The fact that smart and honest people no longer care is very concerning.
- YoYa - Friday, Feb 1, 19 @ 1:03 pm:
Things I learned from this document - Madigan has a sense of humor and Peraica has no idea how to take a deposition.
- Stuntman Bob's Brother - Friday, Feb 1, 19 @ 1:06 pm:
What I want to know: If there is a full hearing and a witness comes forward, will the majority party fly in the witness’ brother, and have him sit next to Madigan throughout the testimony?
- Perrid - Friday, Feb 1, 19 @ 1:30 pm:
“…Madigan intended to disenfranchise Latino voters…”
How was anybody disenfranchised? Everyone could vote for whomever they wanted to vote for. If they couldn’t be bothered to look up who the candidates were, they wasted their vote themselves. This whole case seems bogus to me.
- Anonymous - Friday, Feb 1, 19 @ 1:54 pm:
A stronger case might have been made had the the lineup been:
Madigan, Gonzalez, Ponzalez, Ronzalez.
- Fax Machine - Friday, Feb 1, 19 @ 2:02 pm:
Blair Hull is paying the attorney’s fees - that came out in discovery.
- Chicago_Downstater - Friday, Feb 1, 19 @ 2:07 pm:
This is sneaky & underhanded. No doubt about it. It also suggests that there needs to be stronger protections around primary manipulations. These maneuvers undermine the spirit of a primary even if they don’t break the law, and they should not be allowed.
However, I honestly fail to see how this disenfranchised anyone. Jason Gonzales didn’t connect with enough voters. That’s on him. Now if Madigan or his cronies were actively intimidating voters, then good riddance. Dems would be better off with out him anyways.
- Water is Wet - Friday, Feb 1, 19 @ 2:13 pm:
I keep seeing the argument that “if you add up Gonzalez plus the two sham candidate vote shares, he would have still lost” as a basis for invalidating Gonzalez’s lawsuit. I can’t tell if this is purposefully obtuse, but it is certainly the wrong way to judge the validity of Gonzalez’s claims. Elections aren’t snapshots, they are processes, and Gonzalez is claiming Madigan perverted the process, potentially violating the civil rights of voters and Gonzalez as a candidate. You can’t work backwards from the results to conclude the process wasn’t perverted. It is like Trump pointing to the Electoral College totals as proof that Russian influence was inconsequential.
- Century Club - Friday, Feb 1, 19 @ 2:18 pm:
Perrid, that’s the claim made by Gonzales. I’m not agreeing with the assertion.
The judge on the case wrote “Gonzales alleges that defendants registered these sham candidates to split up the Hispanic vote and prevent the election of a Hispanic representative. This is sufficient to allege purposeful discrimination.”
So that - and the fact that Madigan doesn’t deny that he helped the other candidates (just that he didn’t help anyone because they were Latino) in that excerpt Rich quoted - is what led me to wonder what Madigan actually had to do to be discriminatory.
- DuPage Moderate - Friday, Feb 1, 19 @ 2:23 pm:
It’s like these people who are commenting against Rich’s well-founded editorial on this topic have been living under a rock. Everything Rich wrote in dead-on and has been going on for decades - much to the detriment of our State democracy. The hood is finally being lifted (hopefully).
Madigan remembers everything…everything. He can likely tell you how much money, to the penny, AFSCME gave him and every single Democrat in 1984. His denials here are disingenuous at best. Anyone who has been paying attention knows that.
Thanks Rich.
- Reality - Friday, Feb 1, 19 @ 2:34 pm:
@ 12:47 pm: What’s stopping Mr. Gonzalez from running again?
“According to Gonzales’ own court filing today, his criminal activity ‘resulted in several arrests, criminal charges, and felony and misdemeanor convictions”
- jimmydean - Friday, Feb 1, 19 @ 2:59 pm:
funny,after the election it was all love for madigan, hes not the bad guy, rauner was the problem…ok sure..reality sets back in.