'This is not a withdrawal': Madigan suspends campaign for Illinois House speaker

In a tersely worded statement, besieged Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan said he is suspending his campaign for reelection as leader and told Democratic rivals it is their turn to make the next move.

“This is not a withdrawal,” Madigan stated. “I have suspended my campaign for speaker.

“As I have said many times in the past, I have always put the best interest of the House Democratic Caucus and our members first. The House Democratic Caucus can work to find someone, other than me, to get 60 votes for speaker.”

The seismic move comes as other Democrats are seeking to oust the Chicago lawmaker after he was connected with an FBI political corruption probe. The speaker has not been charged and denies any wrongdoing.

The ongoing power struggle is expected to erupt when the Illinois House meets Wednesday. Among the lawmakers vying to be speaker is Oswego Democratic state Rep. Stephanie Kifowit. “He's shown conduct unbecoming of a public official,” she said Nov. 30.

Another candidate with momentum is Chicago state Rep. Ann Williams, an attorney who previously was legislative director for Madigan's stepdaughter and former Attorney General Lisa Madigan.

In the first closed-door unofficial ballot conducted between Democrats in a private room at the Bank of Springfield Center on Sunday night, Madigan received 51 votes, Williams 18 and Kifowit 3.

The speaker's chess move leaves the Democrats in “disarray,” veteran political analyst and former Illinois Republican Party chairman Pat Brady said.

“This is a gamble,” explained Brady, a former state lawmaker and federal prosecutor. Madigan is “typically very good at this game, but ultimately his last calculation could be his worst.”

For House Democrats, “it's substitute teacher day. They're free to decide. I'm not sure if he properly calculated his popularity or the desire of the caucus to keep him. A lot of people think it's time for a change,” Brady said.

But House Republican Leader Jim Durkin of Western Springs said “I am not sure what (Madigan) means.”

“He needs to take a position on whether he is in or out,” Durkin said. “When he says he has suspended, he may be sitting at the side trying to get his hand-picked successor lined up during this time. So I think that he's not being honest with the General Assembly and also with Illinoisans.”

“I doubt we will see anyone with 60 votes in the next two days,” Durkin said, adding that he's happy to put GOP members in play. “I have 45 votes, and if there is 15 independently minded Democrats who move in my direction, the water is warm and we welcome you.”

The scandal linked to Madigan broke July 17, 2020, when utility giant ComEd admitted to bribery and colluding with a state official, identified as the speaker, to get laws enabling rate hikes passed in exchange for hiring and awarding contracts to Madigan cronies, the U.S. attorney's office for the Northern District of Illinois said.

“Some individuals have spent millions of dollars and worked diligently to establish a false narrative that I am corrupt and unethical,” Madigan stated in late 2020. “The truth is that I have never engaged in any inappropriate or criminal conduct.”

Madigan has not only a massive war chest but also the legislative clout that can doom or propel a state representative's bills.

Many state Democrats had stayed silent on his future, but the dam began to break Nov. 18 after federal prosecutors announced the indictments of former ComEd CEO Anne Pramaggiore of Barrington, 62; Chicagoan John Hooker, 71, a former ComEd executive vice president and lobbyist; Chicagoan Jay Doherty, 67, a ComEd lobbyist and former City Club of Chicago head; and Democratic lobbyist and former lawmaker Michael McClain, 73, of Quincy, a one-time colleague of Madigan in the House.

The four were charged with bribery, bribery conspiracy and falsifying ComEd records in a scheme “to corruptly influence and reward a high-level elected official for the state of Illinois,” authorities said.

Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker addressed Madigan's statement during an unrelated news conference Monday.

“As I have said many times, I will work with whoever the members of the House of Representatives elect as their speaker,” he said. “Choosing the speaker is the sole responsibility of those representatives, and it is clear that the members are taking their choices seriously.”

But on Nov. 19, Pritzker said Madigan “has to, at the very least, be willing to stand in front of the press and the people and answer every last question” if he wants to remain speaker.

Yet the speaker's clout is such it was unclear if he could be toppled and his statement is somewhat enigmatic.

Naperville state Rep. Anna Stava-Murray was among the first to call for Madigan's resignation. Monday she said, “I continue to look forward to moving our state forward with new Democratic leadership.”

• Daily Herald staff writer JJ Bullock contributed to this story.