The long-awaited announcement in Illinois politics has arrived: Michael Madigan (D) will no longer be the Illinois State House Speaker, as Chris Welch (D) will be the Speaker to begin the 102nd Assembly.
Welch got 69 votes to become the next Speaker, and 3 Democrats voted Present in their private party meeting to determine who was going to fill Madigan’s shoes. He beat out Jay Hoffman (D) for that honor. He becomes the first Black person to lead the Illinois State House. State Reps. Ann Williams, Kathleen Willis, and Stephanie Kifowit also were considering running for the position at various points, with Kifowit being the first to declare.
For the first time since the 89th Assembly (1995-97), there will be someone other than Madigan presiding over the House, as Lee Daniels (R) ran the House during those two years. Daniels is the last Republican to serve as House Speaker. Madigan’s first stint as House Speaker began in 1983 under the 83rd Assembly, succeeding Arthur Telscer (R).
As for his State House seat and his Democratic Party of Illinois chair duties, he is currently set to retain those roles, although there is a push to remove him from the state party chair role.
Madigan’s long run at the helm has hit into some roadblocks in recent years, including handling of sexual harassment probes and the ComEd Bribery Scandal— the last of which finally led to his downfall.
His continued tenure (along with backlash to COVID restrictions) hurt the Democrats at the ballot box this past election, notably the failure of the Fair Tax Referendum, the non-retention of Illinois Supreme Court Justice Thomas Kilbride, and a net loss of a House seat, as the GOP flipped 4 House seats and the Dems 3.
Craig Wall at WLS (ABC-7):
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WLS) -- Hillside Democrat Chris Welch will be the next speaker of the Illinois House, succeeding Mike Madigan, who has held the post for decades, ABC7's Craig Wall reports.
Hillside Democrat Welch, a Madigan ally, is expected to receive a unanimous vote from Democrats for the vote Wednesday afternoon. He is set to become the first African-American to serve as Illinois House speaker.
Welch is having to deal with allegations surfacing of a domestic violence incident from 2002 involving a girlfriend who told Hillside police Welch slammed her head on a counter after an argument. Welch was also sued in 2010 by a different woman who alleged sexual harassment and retaliation.
Rick Pearson, Dan Petrella, and Jamie Munks at Chicago Tribune:
State Rep. Emanuel “Chris” Welch is poised to become Illinois’ first Black speaker of the House Wednesday, as Democrats prepared to reject scandal-plagued Michael Madigan and end the Southwest Side Democrat’s decadeslong reign as the undisputed power in Illinois politics.
Welch, of west suburban Hillside, gained the 60 votes he needed from the incoming 73-member majority Democratic caucus after making a final agreement Wednesday morning with his only remaining challenger, state Rep. Jay Hoffman of Swansea in southwestern Illinois.
Welch’s job is now to chart a new future for the chamber’s Democrats after nearly four decades of Madigan’s almost single-handed control of both the party and state agendas.
With the formal vote for speaker to take place on the floor of the Bank of Springfield Center later Wednesday, the state enters a new political age with a diverse Democratic caucus that will try to shed the negative baggage that it has carried in recent years in backing Madigan’s leadership.
Madigan, 78, has been speaker for all but two of the last 38 years, giving up the gavel for two years in the mid-1990s when Republicans briefly held control of the chamber. He was first seated in the House 50 years ago this month.
Welch entered the House eight years ago, and his visibility has grown each year since. Most recently, he served as chairman of the powerful House Executive Committee — the panel which Madigan tightly controlled to oversee critical and controversial legislation.
A Madigan ally, Welch also chaired a special House investigating committee formed to look into Madigan’s actions after he was implicated in July in a federal bribery scandal involving Commonwealth Edison. The utility agreed to pay a $200 million fine and cooperate with authorities after acknowledging it had engaged in a scheme to win Madigan’s favor by offering jobs and contracts to his top allies.
Madigan has not been charged and has said he had no knowledge of the scheme. His top confidante, former lawmaker and lobbyist Michael McClain, and three others were recently indicted in the investigation. They all have pled not guilty.
Mark Maxwell at WCIA:
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (NEXSTAR) — The end of an era is drawing near in Illinois politics.
Fifty years after he was sworn in as a state legislator, Rep. Michael Madigan (D-Chicago) will no longer be the Speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives.
[...]
Rep. Emanuel ‘Chris’ Welch (D-Hillside), an attorney, is expected to be sworn in as the new Speaker after consolidating enough support to win the contest. Welch only entered the race after Madigan suspended his campaign and gave his blessing for other candidates to jump in.
While a group comprised mostly of women blocked Madigan’s path to re-election, none of them could muster enough support to become speaker.
[...]
Welch beat out Rep. Jay Hoffman (D-Swansea) from the Metro East region. Hoffman, who enjoys strong labor backing, finished the race in second place.