THE ILLINOIZE: Thursday Free for All
March 3, 2022
Good morning, friends.
Yesterday changed everything. Longtime House Speaker Michael Madigan, who was dethroned from his post in 2021, was indicted on federal corruption charges.
I have a full rundown below with our story and a lot of other perspectives on the news of the year.
I’ll have a lot more for you on the topic, but my Shaw Media column has been moved up to write about Madigan, so I need to get writing.
If you aren’t a paid subscriber yet, I hope you’ll join us. It’s just $7.99 per month or $75 per year. We’re getting down the stretch on the legislative session, the primary is barreling toward us, oh yeah, and Mike Madigan just got indicted. Keep up with us and keep up with everything.
If you have any questions or comments, drop me a note at patrick@theillinoize.com. If you have any Madigan-specific questions, shoot them over. I’ll try to do a Facebook Live later today.
Let’s get to it.
YOUR THURSDAY FREE FOR ALL
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Madigan Indicted (The Illinoize)
Michael J. Madigan, one of the most powerful figures in the history of Illinois politics, is now among the long list of Illinois politicians to face federal corruption charges.
U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois John Lausch announced a 22-count federal indictment against Madigan Wednesday, shocking the Illinois political class more than any other indictment of an Illinois politician since Rod Blagojevich.
Madigan and his longtime confidante, former State Representative and retired lobbyist Mike McClain , face charges of racketeering, bribery, wire fraud, and other extortion offenses.
The indictment accuses Madigan of leading, for nearly a decade, a criminal enterprise whose purpose was to enhance Madigan’s political power and financial wellbeing, while also generating income for his political allies and associates,“ Lausch said in a news conference Wednesday afternoon. “The charges allege that Madigan used his various elected and professional positions to further the goals of the criminal enterprise.”
Lausch said Madigan required companies, like electric utility Commonwealth Edison, to pay Madigan’s associates as a reward for their loyalty to Madigan without performing viable work for the company. He said many of the jobs for Madigan associates were “low show or no show.” The indictment also alleges Madigan used his power in Springfield to siphon business to his law firm.
The grand jury which returned the indictment against Madigan and McClain has apparently been empaneled since April of last year, with the indictments being returned Wednesday.
Related: Democrats seek to distance themselves from Michael Madigan as Gov. J.B. Pritzker acknowledges meeting with feds during investigation (Chicago Tribune)
Madigan Indictment Reaction (The Illinoize)
Illinois GOP will ‘hang Madigan around the neck’ of every Democratic campaign this year (Belleville News-Democrat)
Michael Madigan, ComEd and corruption: Timeline of how the investigation unfolded (Chicago Tribune)
Editorial: Madigan indictment brings hope of more ethical government in Illinois (Chicago Sun-Times)
'I hope this signals a turning point': Suburban politicians react to Madigan's indictment (Daily Herald)
What to know about US Attorney John Lausch Jr., the Joliet native who announced Madigan’s indictment (Shaw Media)
COVID-19 ICU hospitalizations drop 34% from last week (Daily Herald)
ICU hospitalizations for COVID-19 are down by more than a third from last week.
State health officials today reported 951 COVID-19 patients were being treated in Illinois hospitals, down 22.8%% from a week ago.
Of those hospitalized, 165 are in intensive care. That's 34% less than a week ago, according to Illinois Department of Public Health records.
IDPH officials are also reporting 45 more COVID-19 deaths, as well as 1,640 new cases diagnosed.
The state's COVID-19 death toll is now at 32,848, while 3,034,701 infections have been recorded since the outset of the pandemic.
The seven-day case positivity rate in Illinois is now at 1.6%. That's down from 1.9% a week ago. Case positivity is the percentage of tests results that render a new case of the virus.
Public health officials have started moving away from this metric as an indicator of how widespread the virus is because of all the home tests being administered and those results not being reported to health agencies.
Related: CPS to drop mask mandate ‘in the near future,’ CEO says (Chicago Sun-Times)
Urbana school board votes to keep masks required through spring break (Champaign News-Gazette)
Batinick Passes, Kathy Salvi Jumps Into U.S. Senate Race (The Illinoize)
Kathy Salvi, a longtime GOP activist and 2006 candidate for Congress from Lake County, confirmed to The Illinoize Tuesday night she is jumping in the race for U.S. Senate.
Salvi is an attorney and the wife of former Rep. Al Salvi, who ran for U.S. Senate in 1996 and Secretary of State in 1998. She’s no stranger to politics, either, though, finishing second in the race for the GOP nomination for the 8th congressional district in 2006.
She raised a good chunk of money in her 2006 run, losing to David McSweeney, who eventually became a State Representative.
Salvi brings financial resources to the race, which is populated by a group of well-meaning, but inexperienced and poorly known, Republican candidates for U.S. Senate. The Salvis have long been involved in pro-life and pro-family causes, though they pre-date the Trump takeover of the GOP, so it remains to be seen how she will be received by primary voters in 2022. It should be noted, though, that former GOP nominee for Governor Bill Brady has not announced his plans for 2022 yet, and a Senate run was potentially under consideration.
If Salvi wins the primary, and she would immediately be considered the favorite, she would face Sen. Tammy Duckworth, who has more than $4 million cash on hand.
But one Republican operative told me last night “don’t underestimate her.”
Salvi’s entrance in the race will keep Rep. Mark Batinick (R-Plainfield) out of the Senate contest. Batinick told me last night he considered the race but says he’s “excited” about Salvi’s candidacy.
Salvi immediately becomes the frontrunner in the race for the GOP nomination for Senate, but remains a huge underdog in November.
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