24 Comments - AD - Thursday, Nov 5, 20 @ 8:35 pm: (GIF of Michael Jackson eating popcorn) - Lord of the Fries - Thursday, Nov 5, 20 @ 8:38 pm: This is laughable. Where was she throughout the years of corruption. She only cares now that it’s hurting democrats elections. This is Illinois democrats. Turn a blind eye on corruption until it threatens their power. - Epoc - Thursday, Nov 5, 20 @ 8:43 pm: This is absurd. What progress is she referring? Anyone who thinks Dems will be better off without Madigan has never done politics in another state and has never paid attention to the rest of the Midwest where you’ve had long periods of GOP rule and wild swings to the right periodically. Also JB just proved he’s in position to prop up Democrats statewide against an onslaught from KG. Finally Durbin and Duckworth have done nothing for Democrats in IL. Once Madigan is gone, IL will be purple in every way. - NIU Grad - Thursday, Nov 5, 20 @ 8:44 pm: With all the issues facing the state, I just hope that Madigan doesn’t expend energy on petty revenge actions against everyone. - Oswego Willy - Thursday, Nov 5, 20 @ 8:47 pm: === Where was she throughout the years of corruption.=== Madigan has yet to be charged with a crime ===She only cares now that it’s hurting democrats elections=== It’s a political decision, same as supporting, it’s political decision. You seemingly already know that. === This is Illinois democrats=== So your angst is a political decision, made for political reasons, according to you. “Ok” I’ve said Madigan should resign since July 18th so let’s stop the “you support Madigan” stuff before it starts, lol To the post, It’s a smart move to come out and include the Speakership, as a US Senator, there’s no worry about the idea of state government tampering in the caucus. She can do this. Can her thoughts get Madigan below 58 (59 including MJM)? Dunno. - hisgirlfriday - Thursday, Nov 5, 20 @ 8:48 pm: I am still recovering from the shock of actually feeling heard by Illinois Dem leaders these last 24 hours about the need for Madigan to get out of the way. Finally finally finally it is being said by the big dogs. Can we get a refresher of what the mechanical processes are for replacing a Dem party chair who stubbornly and selfishly refuses to ride off into the sunset? Would be awesome if we could get someone in charge who believes in having a 102-county Illinois Democratic Party but at the very least having a Dem chair who doesn’t make it a political liability to accept money from the Illinois Democratic Party would be so nice. - Frank talks - Thursday, Nov 5, 20 @ 8:52 pm: Progress? You mean like drawing a congressional map so you don’t have to lose to Peter Roskam a second time? Party leadership suited her until it doesn’t now that she’s up in 2 years. - Precinct Captain - Thursday, Nov 5, 20 @ 8:54 pm: - Epoc - Thursday, Nov 5, 20 @ 8:43 pm: Durbin has done a lot in places like Will County. But I’ll reiterate, where is the data to say that Madigan cost the Dems some gangbusters pickups? Durbin is the #2 Senate Democrat and the Schumer-Durbin DSCC totally blanked the bed. Look at Bustos and the DCCC. Same thing. There weren’t Madigan ads in Maine, Montana, Kentucky, and North Carolina. There’s got to be a more critical look than chirping “Madigan.” How many points did Madigan really cost Dems here? Can it be quantified? You might say Kilbride. Okay, but state supreme court elections across America have become highly politicized and expensive for the past two decades. Who is to say some “tort reform” folks wouldn’t have come in anyway? Doesn’t mean they would’ve beat Kilbride, but my point is that Illinois isn’t some magical place immune from trends in the rest of America. - Southwest Sider - Thursday, Nov 5, 20 @ 9:02 pm: Kind of big. When heavy weight Dems come out against Madigan, it gives cover for others as well to do the same. - Annoyed - Thursday, Nov 5, 20 @ 9:03 pm: Concur with precinct captain. Does Duckworth seriously not realize how ridiculously blue this state is? What other Midwest state with D supermajorities, all D state wide office holders, US senators, and multiple US house seats held by D’s in R districts. And Kilbride got 55% so a D should win that in 2022. If this is DPI failure I wouldn’t want to be the next chair. - Rich Miller - Thursday, Nov 5, 20 @ 9:08 pm: ===Kilbride got 55% so a D should win that=== Um, that was a non-partisan affair. - Theshow - Thursday, Nov 5, 20 @ 9:29 pm: Microcosm of her entire political career. Seat filler… - Some Anonymous Dude (S.A.D.) - Thursday, Nov 5, 20 @ 9:37 pm: He can’t draw Durbin and Duckworth out through redistricting. - Annoyed - Thursday, Nov 5, 20 @ 9:39 pm: I know that..but let’s be honest, it wasn’t a race based on Kilbride’s legal ability…. it was a D vs. R race, with the named R being announced sometime before 2022. Again, what state had better D results? There’s a reason why the R party is a joke and beholden to Griffin/Rauner, and it’s not because of Fritz or Duckworth. - Candy Dogood - Thursday, Nov 5, 20 @ 9:45 pm: Durbin, Duckworth, and Pritzker can make things uncomfortable for 35 people that are the only 35 people in the state that have a say over who the chair person of the DPI is. The longer he remains chair the more abundantly clear it is that the State Central Committee is out of step with the voters the Democratic Party relies on, and the more abundantly clear it is that the Democratic Party needs to revamp their process for choosing it’s leadership. - Rich Miller - Thursday, Nov 5, 20 @ 9:53 pm: ===You mean like drawing a congressional map so you don’t have to=== Cullerton drew the congressional map. - Moe Berg - Thursday, Nov 5, 20 @ 10:10 pm: It was a non-partisan race, but Kilbride was effectively and sufficiently labeled a Democrat in a judicial district that now favors Republicans. So, a bit harder to say with absolute certainty it was the alleged Madigan ties that did him in as opposed to the party label. Londrigan lost because it was, from a Democratic perspective, a marginal swing district. A massive number of Trump Republicans came out this year and they weren’t voting for a Democrat for Congress. - Hard D - Thursday, Nov 5, 20 @ 10:23 pm: She’s looking to 2022 and how Durbin didn’t exactly do great numbers. She’s safe but never ever take anything for granted in politics. She’s better off without the speaker around - Joe Bidenopolous - Thursday, Nov 5, 20 @ 10:29 pm: I could be mistaken, but doesn’t the legislature have the ability to redraw Supreme Court boundaries, except for the three Justices allocated to the City of Chicago by the Constitution? Irrespective of that, it’s incredibly short-sighted to pick an already-wounded scapegoat to explain away what happened with the Fair Tax, Kilbride, and the D legislators that lost. This happened elsewhere. Expectations of pickups across the country, in legislatures, in Congress, in the Senate, for Democrats were dashed, Again, the reason for that - in other states - was not Madigan. Short version - if they don’t recognize what those factors are, if they excise the wound of Madigan and don’t address the root causes, should they really expect a different result? - Rich Miller - Thursday, Nov 5, 20 @ 10:52 pm: ===Kilbride was effectively and sufficiently labeled a Democrat=== His ads were filled with Republicans. - Moe Berg - Thursday, Nov 5, 20 @ 11:30 pm: ===His ads were filled with Republicans=== His ads didn’t say he was a Republican. They also had Democrats. - Quizzical - Thursday, Nov 5, 20 @ 11:40 pm: Persuasive but not controlling. Having three statewide officials in public opposition is a big deal, and it makes me suspect other powerful insiders may be backstopping them. Mike Madigan is not responsible for destroying Illinois. He has been a player in a State with problems, but lots of assets too. His departure, whether it comes sooner or later, will not change the basic math that will control Illinois’ prospects over the next 20 years. - Really - Friday, Nov 6, 20 @ 7:03 am: Looks like a circular firing squad. People that are explaining the loss on the Governor’s tax increase CA as a lack of trust are 100% correct. - Lake Effect - Friday, Nov 6, 20 @ 9:52 am: Epoc has it right. Durbin is worthless. Duckworth has a nice story but is completely mediocre. JB owes his primary win to Madigan handing him labor. Sorry, comments for this post are now closed.