By Dave Dahl
SPRINGFIELD – To cap off a week in which more than a dozen House Democrats have gone away from House Speaker Mike Madigan (D-Chicago), his public relations people released a statement saying he doesn’t intend to go anywhere.
It says, “I plan to be a candidate for speaker, and I confirmed that I continue to have support from a significant number of House Democratic caucus members.” After indictments in the Commonwealth Edison bribery scandal surfaced Wednesday, the heat on the unindicted Madigan turned up, and an informal count shows he has fewer than the sixty votes that will be required to re-elect him speaker.
Madigan maintains his innocence in the Com Ed caper, in which the utility admitted spending almost a decade trying to bribe him to get certain legislation passed.
The full statement:
“The decision on the next speaker of the Illinois House will be made at a caucus, after a full discussion of the issues facing our state and the qualifications of the candidates. I plan to be a candidate for speaker, and today I confirmed that I continue to have support from a significant number of House Democratic caucus members.”
Dave Dahl can be reached at [email protected].
