House Speaker Michael Madigan, the Wizard of West Lawn, has never lost an election in his home neighborhood. But even after 44 years in politics, he’s not taking any chances against Michelle Piszczor, the only real challenger he’s faced in a generation.
Madigan is planting signs in every yard on South Cicero Avenue, and he’s actually sending out a mailing to his constituents. But it doesn’t mention Piszczor. Instead, Madigan’s opponent is a man who’ll be in a federal prison in Colorado on Primary Day: former Gov. Rod Blagojevich, whose impeachment Madigan oversaw.
On the front is a doctored photo of Blagojevich shrugging his shoulders in front of an abandoned house. On the back is this message:
Michael Madigan is making sure crooked politicians who betray the public trust pay for their crimes. Madigan repeatedly opposed disgraced former Governor Rod Blagojevich’s wasteful and destructive policies. After the corruption charges against the former governor were filed, Madigan led the fight to impeach and remove him from office. Now, Madigan wants to stamp out corruption by requiring prison sentences for elected officials and high-ranking state employees who commit serious ethics violations.
Madigan must be worried if he’s running on a good government platform. This is the guy who just recently prevented Gov. Pat Quinn from ending the legislative scholarship program, which allows legislators to give free college educations to the children of politically-connected constituents.
