Madigan re-elected Speaker; Senate adopts leader term limits

Speaker of the House Michael Madigan (Chicago Tribune photo)

Michael Madigan was re-elected Wednesday to a 17th term leading the Illinois House, putting him on track to soon become the nation’s longest-serving statehouse speaker in more than a century, but he faces an ongoing budget crisis and a shrinking Democratic majority. A member of the Illinois House since 1971, Madigan has held the top job for a total of 32 years. According to the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform, Democrat Solomon Blatt of South Carolina served 33 years – from 1937 to 1946 and again from 1951 to 1973. Madigan, who was elected speaker in 1983 but lost his majority from 1995 to 1997 before retaking it, would eclipse Blatt’s tenure early next year. The Illinois Senate took its own historic step Wednesday borne of the budget stalemate. The Democratic-controlled body voted for the first time to impose 10-year term limits on its leaders as both chambers got down to business in the General Assembly’s 100th session. Please Click to read the rest of the story from John O’ Connor of the Associated Press ran by the Springfield Journal-Register