Speaker battle looms over new Illinois General Assembly

(The Center Square) – The new term of the Illinois Legislature begins Wednesday afternoon and all eyes are on who will be the next speaker of the House.

Longtime Illinois politics observer and University of Illinois Springfield professor Kent Redfield said whoever becomes speaker they have to pledge to be independent of Michael Madigan, D-Chicago, who’s held the seat for all but two years since 1983.

“Whether [Madigan] finishes out his term or not, I don’t expect him to be the controller behind the curtain, I don’t think that’s going to happen,” Redfield said.

House Minority Leader Jim Durkin, R-Western Springs, said state Rep. Chris Welch, D-Hillside, had lobbyists reach out for Republican support for Welch’s speaker bid. Durkin said Welch should be disqualified for blocking Madigan from testifying in a House investigation of the ComEd bribery scheme.

“To me, I consider Chris Welch an extension of Mike Madigan and we’ve got to break from the past,” Durkin said. “And trust me, Mike Madigan is going to do everything he can to pass the baton on to someone who’s going to continue the model of Madigan Inc.”

Welch and Durkin clashed through news conferences and letters over the House Special Investigating Committee that Welch chaired. Republicans wanted to subpoena Madigan. Welch and Democrats on the committee blocked that and ended the committee’s work without hearing any testimony other than what ComEd volunteered.

Welch couldn’t be reached for comment.

Durkin said nothing has been done with his request to Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White to put a temporary parliamentarian in place Wednesday if balloting for Speaker becomes protracted.

Redfield said there is a historical precedent for dozens of ballots if no candidate gets the majority votes needed to lead the chamber. That could take days.

Madigan has not withdrawn his nomination.

No matter who is speaker, Redfield said it’s going to be a tough two-year term.

“Throw redistricting on top of fixing the budget crisis and restoring ethics to Illinois politics,” Redfield told WMAY.

The state’s budget is nearly $4 billion out of balance. A legislative commission on ethics and lobbying reforms has been stalled.

State Sen. Bill Cunningham, the assistant majority leader, said one issue the incoming legislature must focus on is helping businesses.

“One thing we really need to look at is assistance for the hospitality industry, for bars, restaurants, hotels,” said Cunningham, D-Chicago. “Those are the areas that have really been hurt the most and we need to find a way to help them. That needs to be right at the top of the list of things to do.”

But, Cunningham also advocated for closing what he called loopholes in the tax code. Republicans and business groups have opposed that move, saying it will mean a collective $500 million tax increase.

Republicans also said the priority needs to be on fixing problems like the state’s unemployment system.

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