By Dave Dahl

SPRINGFIELD – By an informal count, Mike Madigan (D-Chicago) would not have the sixty votes needed to retain his job as Speaker of the Illinois House come January.

One Democrat, State Rep. Stephanie Kifowit (D-Oswego), says she’s running, and more than a dozen more say they don’t support Madigan as speaker. One of the latest is State Rep. Will Guzzardi (D-Chicago), who says the party faces challenges and needs a long-term vision.

“People don’t have faith in their government,” Guzzardi said in an interview. “They don’t have faith in Democrats in Springfield and our current leadership to solve problems fairly, justly, and ethically. And so, if we are going to tackle these huge challenges facing our state in the year to come, we are going to need a new direction, new leadership people can trust.”

The Com Ed indictments, Guzzardi says, only contribute to the public’s distrust, though Madigan is not charged and maintains his innocence.

Dave Dahl can be reached at [email protected].