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A mission taken to an absurd extreme

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Illinois

* My weekly syndicated newspaper column from last week…

On Page 9 of last week’s federal indictment of four people accused of conspiring to bribe House Speaker Michael Madigan with favors from ComEd is this heading: “Defendants and Relevant Individuals.”

But the first person listed is not one of the defendants. “Public Official A was the Speaker of the House of Representatives,” the list begins.

The feds don’t just throw these things together like some college freshman who’s late with a term paper. Indictments, particularly in political cases, are often carefully crafted in order to send a message. So, it obviously ain’t good when you’re at the very top of the government’s defendant list and you’re not even a defendant.

It’s also not exactly great when your former consigliere and most trusted friend Mike McClain is indicted along with other once-powerful people in your orbit for conspiring to bribe you.

And that’s a big reason why we’ve seen so many House Democrats declare in the past several days that they will not vote to re-elect Speaker Madigan

Quite a few people, including attorneys I’ve spoken with, appear to agree with McClain’s lawyer that the feds are “attempting to rewrite the law on bribery and criminalize long-recognized legitimate, common, and normal lobbying activity into some new form of crime.”

They may have a valid legal point. McClain and the others might be able to beat this rap. I don’t know. I’ve seen others make that claim and fail.

But, c’mon, the stuff in the indictment isn’t “common” or “normal,” at least outside Madigan’s 13th Ward.

The amount of time spent obsessing over 10 summer internships for kids in Madigan’s ward (some of whom didn’t even qualify) bordered on farce. My “favorite” part of the indictment was when ComEd was essentially warned not to count those interns against the number of patronage jobs the company was doling out to the ward.

And how many political organizations successfully install precinct captains into no-show contract jobs in this day and age? Also, how many state legislators think they can install someone on a utility’s board of directors?

Like any unfettered, unquestioned bureaucracy, they took their mission to an absurd extreme. And, this time, it resulted in indictments.

Up until now, Madigan has been the most adaptive and adept politician I’ve ever seen. You don’t stick around for 48 years by remaining stagnant, I suppose.

He began his career as a typical tough-on-crime, socially conservative, Southwest Side Irish Catholic. He’s since become pro-choice, voted for both gay marriage and to abolish the death penalty and backed up the Black Caucus in its difficult years-long effort to block criminal penalty enhancement legislation. He spent years defending the rights of trial lawyers, then pushed through a medical malpractice reform bill when the issue started hurting his members. He went after the public employee unions over their pensions when he felt he had to, then united all unions like never before when the state elected an anti-union governor.

At his most recent low point, Madigan quickly committed to “change the culture” in the House during the 2018 sexual harassment scandals. He saved his own skin at a time when lots of folks thought he wouldn’t make it through.

But he has insisted since the ComEd scandal broke that he believes it’s not only his right to help people find jobs and contracts, it’s actually his duty. There would be no change to that particular culture he created. There’d be no “evolving” as he’d done on so many other issues. And for good reason.

Madigan’s machine is old school. It runs on patronage. And he needs a lot of patronage to keep his huge machine humming. He’s always on the hunt for opportunities, and his people love him for taking care of them, and are fiercely and forever loyal.

But patronage is supposed to be a means to an end of running successful political campaigns, and it unfortunately appeared to become an end in and of itself.

The favors culture Madigan created led to ComEd’s deferred prosecution agreement, and that DPA led to last week’s indictments of his close associates, and those indictments led to an even larger member revolt which appears, as I write this, to be about to remove the gavel from Madigan’s hands.

The old-timers said that Dan Rostenkowski, George Ryan and others got themselves in trouble because they didn’t change with the times. Madigan was supposed to be different. And he actually was for many years. Until now.

There was no column this week because I was on vacation.

posted by Rich Miller
Monday, Nov 30, 20 @ 8:51 am

Comments

Anyone who thinks they’ll stay on top forever, I’ve got two words-
Sears and Roebuck.

Comment by Flyin' Elvis'-Utah Chapter Monday, Nov 30, 20 @ 9:02 am
Elvis: good point (with 3 words)

Comment by Sayitaintso Monday, Nov 30, 20 @ 9:19 am
To the post,

What’s been really interesting, for me, is re-reading “Boss” and revisiting “American Pharaoh” as well and with the purpose of looking at this indictment and taking to the Madigan Machine the similarities to process and thought in 2018, 2019, and now in 2020.

This idea of cataloging jobs, favors, how everyone has this connection and path to get “something” but then there’s the “other side”, the scratching of a back or the earning of the favor in ways to an end game.

There’s never a wasted motion or movement, each decision is not a decision ending simply. As in athletics, wasted motion doesn’t promote efficiency, and that’s part and parcel of a machine working well, “efficiency”.

The adding to all this is the unqualified, the sloppy, the obvious, and the brazen. All those added elements make efficiency less, and makes the machine work harder for less, and frankly makes the job easier for others to point to the “old ways” continuing but at a level of sheer arrogance that how can one not feel a need to see how things are going down.

It’s now up to the USA to try to show the old ways as illegal acts, not just unethical decisions.

It’s up to the HDems, the Democratic Party, labor, Dem allies to see how they can move forward, without Madigan, by Madigan’s choice, the USA’s choice, or 14+ HDems deciding to say “Today we’re burning the ships, it’s over for Madigan in the House”.

Now, we wait.

Comment by Oswego Willy Monday, Nov 30, 20 @ 9:39 am
The Feds seem to specialize in making marginal and questionable acts federal crimes. Looks almost like another stretch of “honest services”. All the things that have and seem to go on in this state will be odd if he goes down for getting jobs at Com Ed. And if I remember my Boss & American Pharaoh Sears was a big time haven for jobs for Daley the first. Patronage will never go away will be around at least by another name. i think it served and still serves a purpose.

Comment by DuPage Saint Monday, Nov 30, 20 @ 9:51 am
‘Boss’ remains the quintessential street level civics handbook for all time. The resounding phrase I recall …” Where’s Mine!”

Comment by Sayitaintso Monday, Nov 30, 20 @ 10:00 am
I think Mike is on life support and the feds are getting ready to pull the plug.

Comment by Nieva Monday, Nov 30, 20 @ 10:12 am
@Dupage - Curious since you think patronage serves a purpose what that purpose is?

Comment by Chicagonk Monday, Nov 30, 20 @ 10:20 am
==Patronage will never go away will be around at least by another name.==

Let’s not act like this is entirely absent from the business world. Every large organization has at least one (probably several) employees who are ‘acquainted’ with a superior.

Comment by Jocko Monday, Nov 30, 20 @ 10:29 am
Every large organization has at least one (probably several) employees who are ‘acquainted’ with a superior.

Certainly. At one of the firms I was at (fortune 100) Anytime a VP got kicked out, the next one cleaned out all his “kids”.

That is, the people the VP had promoted regardless of their lack of accomplishment.

Comment by Fav Human Monday, Nov 30, 20 @ 10:43 am
===Every large organization has at least one (probably several) employees who are ‘acquainted’ with a superior===

Very true, and that includes the US Attorney’s office.

But this is about way more than just hiring a somebody what somebody sent.

Comment by Rich Miller Monday, Nov 30, 20 @ 10:46 am
IMHO, the top heavy legislative decisions (think pension holidays and pork barrel politics, unionization of nearly all state employees, etc.) made during Madigan’s tenure is the main reason IL is in such dire straights. Not all of these were unilateral Madigan decisions but wreak of his heavy handed machine style political leadership. Certainly this s/b the end of the line for MJM.

Comment by Soccertease Monday, Nov 30, 20 @ 10:52 am
@Chicagonk Well the obvious purpose is to enrich political organizations and keep the elected politicians elected, but IMHO I think it could also serve to run a somewhat more efficient city. I guess if your orginaztion strong you really did know who was “Boss” and who to complain to. Now after Shakeman hard to know who really is in charge, and I believe Mr. Shakeman did hire his own kid so it is still around but you don’t have one boss controlloing it. Poor explanation but why hire someone who is not loyal? Which of course leads to Barrios and Stroger and Madigan. Maybe there is a happy medium

Comment by DuPage Saint Monday, Nov 30, 20 @ 10:58 am
===Madigan’s machine is old school. It runs on patronage===

I dislike patronage and root for its end. But I also know that patronage is part of both parties, so Republicans demanding the head of their political opponent is both hypocritical and insufficient.

Comment by Jibba Monday, Nov 30, 20 @ 11:04 am
===Every large organization has at least one (probably several) employees who are ‘acquainted’ with a superior===
But government can enact laws that impact everyone, unlike other “organizations.” Suggesting some equivalence to a business hiring someone based on a referral to the Speaker’s henchman demanding hires, with the expectation by those who did the hiring that the would receive favorable treatment from the government is wholly off base.

Comment by phocion Monday, Nov 30, 20 @ 11:26 am