Chambana Sun

State Senate District 52 candidate Mike Madigan has the same name as the Illinois House Speaker, but the Republican said he is not pleased with his namesake’s recent actions and has called out House Democrats for taking a monthlong break at such a crucial time in budget discussions.

“GOP effort to keep the General Assembly in session is ruled ‘out of order’ by the Dems. Dems adjourn for an entire month!” state Senate candidate Mike Madigan wrote on his Facebook page.

Last Thursday, state Rep. Tom Demmer (R-Dixon) made a motion to avoid a scheduled monthlong recess, but the motion was quickly dismissed by Democrat leadership before any formal discussion on the matter was made.

During his floor speech, Demmer addressed the House and asked his fellow legislators to meet the following day to continue working to solve urgent issues instead of taking the scheduled break.

“Mr. Speaker, several times during today’s debate we’ve heard this is not a solution, that there’s still work to do, that we still have a lot of conversations to have and bills to work on,” Demmer said. “I’m asking that the House stand adjourned until tomorrow at 12 noon.”

Demmer went on to request an official vote.

“If you vote ‘Yes,’ you’re voting to keep working," Demmer said. "If you vote ‘No,’ you’re voting to leave for more than a month and not come back until April. I ask that you stand with me. I ask for a recorded vote on a motion to adjourn 'til Friday, March 4, at the hour of noon.”

According to House rules, a motion to adjourn can be made at any time, except when a prior motion has been defeated.

Despite the motion being in line with House rules, Demmer’s motion was ruled as out of line with the rules by Democratic-led leadership and the monthlong break was announced. The House will resume session on April 4.

“It’s egregious that House Democrats would find it acceptable to take a month off during the heart of legislative session, especially given the challenges we face,” Demmer told The Caucus Blog. “My motion to stay in session was legitimate and was made completely in line with the House rules -- the Democrats’ own rules.”

The session schedule is determined by House Speaker Michael Madigan, and some have questioned whether his decision to place a monthlong gap in March was politically driven.

"The Other" Mike Madigan joked about having the same name as the long-time politician when he announced his candidacy last November.

“My parents were thinking of naming me David, I believe, and I kind of wish they would have now,” Madigan said at a Champaign County Active Senior Republicans meeting. “But no, I like my name and I think that maybe we can use that to our advantage a little bit in drawing some distinctions between the two Mike Madigans.”

Madigan, a restaurant owner, has served Urbana's Ward 6 since May 2013, and sits on the Cunningham Township Board and the Urbana Traffic Commission. He is a former legislative staffer and was an aide to former Gov. George Ryan.