* Never tweet…

* But the Tribune has a pretty good look at this week’s “virtual” Democratic National Convention…

For the 182 Illinois delegates and 13 alternates, the social event will be attended virtually by the state party on a nightly basis before the two-hour national prime-time festivities. There will be no raucous nightly parties, no lunches paid for by special interest groups and no morning breakfast rallies where guest speakers and surrogates from the national campaign aim to put the state’s delegates in a rallying mood. […]

Perhaps no one is breathing a bigger sigh of relief that the convention will be a virtual one than embattled Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan, who undoubtedly would have been the focus of four days of intense media scrutiny. […]

It is the right atmosphere for Illinois delegates at an in-person convention to organize around, said Carol Ronen, a former North Side state senator and one of three members of the 36-member Democratic State Central Committee to call on Madigan to exit his various state and party roles.

“There’d be little groups forming together. More people agreeing with me then are coming forward,” Ronen, a longtime convention delegate, said in picturing what discussions about Madigan would look like.

I’m not sure she’s right about people necessarily agreeing with her in particular, but they’d definitely be huddling about the future.

* Lynn Sweet…

For the first time in the history of the nation, the spreading COVID-19 pandemic is forcing the Democratic and Republican 2020 presidential nominating conventions to be mainly virtual. Instead of a party on convention eve in Milwaukee, 116 Illinois Democrats huddled together on Zoom for almost 90 minutes.

The inscrutable, scandalized Democratic Party of Illinois Chairman Michael Madigan, also the Illinois House speaker, spoke for all of 18 seconds, or 47 words, using 21 of them to introduce party executive director Mary Morrissey, who moderated the session. […]

Madigan, who spoke from his Southwest Side 13th Ward headquarters, gets an unearned dividend from a virtual convention — no morning in-person Illinois delegation breakfast meetings where reporters would be working the room to find out if more Democrats wanted him to step down from his leadership roles because of the unfolding Commonwealth Edison scandal.

With Madigan barricaded behind a Zoom moat, diminishing overt local political drama, the welcome reception focused on defeating Trump in the next 79 days.

* WBEZ’s piece was even highlighted by the ILGOP…

Illinois Republican Party Chairman Tim Schneider today issued the following statement as blasting Governor JB Pritzker for participating in Mike Madigan’s convention of corruption and for remaining silent on whether State Sen. Terry Link should step down:

“Every Democrat who participates in a convention chaired by a man under criminal investigation for bribery is complicit in his corruption. Corruption starts at the top – and Governor Pritzker is knee deep in Madigan’s corruption. Pritzker remains silent on whether State Sen. Terry Link should resign, too. The Governor will be held accountable for pledging allegiance to Chairman Madigan and his convention of corruption.”

From WBEZ this morning:

“Illinois Democrats Meet Virtually For DNC As Corruption Questions Surround Their Chairman”

…

“Even though they’re meeting remotely, Illinois Democrats are facing a lot of questions about the future of their leader due to a sprawling corruption investigation.”

…

“For Illinois Democrats, the convention arrives as the chairman of the state party, Michael Madigan, is facing calls from inside his own party to step aside. Those calls have been coming for the past month after Commonwealth Edison admitted it handed out jobs and contracts to gain favor with Madigan, who is also the longest-serving House Speaker of any chamber in the country.”

…

“Will Democrats address the investigation into Madigan this week?”

The party didn’t bother to link to the story in their press release, so click here.