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Because… Madigan!

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Illinois

* Joe Cahill…

To eradicate corruption once and for all, Illinois must prevent the rise of another Madigan.

Some of the ideas he proposes are pretty good, but that seems like just a wee bit of an over-promise.

Illinois lawmakers from both sides of the aisle recently announced support for ethics reforms — this, after Democrats who control both chambers left Springfield in May without passing any.

But there’s a major plank missing from the proposals: Removing House Speaker Michael Madigan now.

The Republicans and some Democrats would beg to differ.

* Um…

Coincidence? Here’s what happened to the zoom feed when IL Dem Delegates took a Madigan question that they knew was coming - as they required questions be sent in to them early #DNC pic.twitter.com/55LvAwRxFN

— Mary Ann Ahern (@MaryAnnAhernNBC) August 18, 2020

Maybe that’s what caused the delayed response, although the question was simply read aloud and not directed at any one person on the call…

Although an all-virtual Democratic National Convention has led to a few awkward moments as party leaders adapt to a new web-based format, there weren’t any technical glitches behind an uncomfortable pause Tuesday afternoon as top Illinois Democrats were asked a pointed question about embattled Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan. […]

That changed at the end of a virtual news conference previewing the second night of the convention for the Illinois delegation, when a spokeswoman for Madigan relayed a question from NBC-5 political editor Carol Marin to a panel that included U.S. Representatives Robin Kelly and Jan Schakowsky, Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza and Mary Morrissey, executive director of the state Democratic Party.

Beyond the ComEd case, Marin asked if Madigan should step down “given also his admitted failings” in a sexual harassment scandal that rocked Springfield two years ago.

A full 13 seconds passed before Kelly offered the conditional chiding of Madigan that most prominent Illinois Dems have stuck to since federal prosecutors announced the ComEd case a month ago.

Comptroller Mendoza also spoke up.

I watched on BlueRoomStream.com and there were no technical glitches.

Bottom line, if DPI wants to do these things, they ought to either allow reporters to name a pool reporter or just open it up to questions on Zoom.

* Related…

* Architect of the Capitol to take up issue of Douglas statue: Board members of the Office of the Architect of the Capitol will take up a request from the Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan to replace imagery of political giant Stephen Douglas and Illinois pioneer Pierre Menard because of their racist pasts.

* Illinois lawmakers call for ethics reform: In the wake of the ComEd scandal involving House Speaker Michael Madigan, there have been a number of legislators who are now talking about ethics reforms in Illinois. State Reps. Blaine Wilhour, John Cabello, Darren Bailey, and Brad Halbrook held a press conference Tuesday calling for reform.

posted by Rich Miller
Wednesday, Aug 19, 20 @ 9:57 am

Comments

“To eradicate corruption once and for all, Illinois must prevent the rise of another Madigan.”

That would prevent another Blago, Ryan, et al. How naive are some people?

Comment by Grandson of Man Wednesday, Aug 19, 20 @ 10:18 am
Cannot agree more Rich. This handling of the media is archaic and these elected officials are used to being asked difficult questions - and it’s part of the job. All they’ve done is make it a bigger issue.

Comment by Shytown Wednesday, Aug 19, 20 @ 10:26 am
Mary Ann Ahern does not look good in a tin foil hat

Comment by Precinct Captain Wednesday, Aug 19, 20 @ 10:32 am
Is Mary Ann giving an example of how quickly the older generation jumps into conspiracy-land when the actual issue is simply not understanding the technology.

===A full 13 seconds passed===

Having been working remote for over a decade already, I’ve noticed people new to this don’t quite understand the nuances of this type of setup.

It is considered best practices, as well as polite, to give a long pause to allow for any latency/lag when people are talking, to make sure they are done talking. This is the best way to ensure ‘talking over’ people is avoided.

Almost without fail, it is always the older generation who has a hard time grasping these things. But for a supposed professional to immediately jump into trying to link it to a conspiracy is unprofessional.

On a bigger stage, this really does highlight almost perfectly how ‘conspiratorial thinking’ works. In a complex/new situation, it’s much easier and quicker to ascribe a deliberate and nefarious simple cause to something you don’t understand, instead of taking the time to understand the facts of the complex situation at hand.

Comment by TheInvisibleMan Wednesday, Aug 19, 20 @ 11:29 am
Maybe the IT folks from the news outlets have been furloughed?

Comment by Frank talks Wednesday, Aug 19, 20 @ 11:42 am
=== State Reps. Blaine Wilhour, John Cabello, Darren Bailey, and Brad Halbrook held a press conference Tuesday calling for reform.===

Ask them if there should be a 51st state too…

These guys are as serious as a cartoon villain.

Comment by Oswego Willy Wednesday, Aug 19, 20 @ 3:37 pm
Looks like Homer Simpson looking at the ceiling.

Comment by Colin robinson Wednesday, Aug 19, 20 @ 6:26 pm
All this anti-corruption talk means ever longer and meaningless required ethics training for State of Illinois employees.

Comment by Huh? Wednesday, Aug 19, 20 @ 9:04 pm