Chambana Sun

After nearly four decades of seeing House Speaker Mike Madigan operate, veteran state Rep. Dan Caulkins (R-Decatur) is warning anyone who will listen not to underestimate him.

“He hasn’t given up and he has a couple months to continue trying to persuade members he should remain in charge going forward,” Caulkins told the Chambana Sun. “The bottom line is Mike Madigan still has a lot of clout and a lot of money to go with it and anyone that would underestimate him does so at their own peril.”

Even with 18 Democratic lawmakers now insisting they have no intentions of supporting Madigan in his reelection effort, Caulkins argues things are far from settled.

“As for all those Democrats now saying ‘no’ to Madigan, I think we can take their pledge on face value maybe on the first ballot,” he said. “But after that, and as things get more and more heated, who knows what may happen. They can say that they voted against him on the first ballot and have cover for that. Really, I’m not sure some of this isn’t just political expediency.”

At the same time that the longtime House speaker is vowing to seek another term, more and more Democrat lawmakers are anxiously distancing themselves from him as fallout from the ongoing ComEd scandal and federal corruption probe it has sparked continues to play out. The latest shoe to drop includes the indictment of four individuals with ties to Madigan, including longtime associate and lobbyist Michael McClain, who now faces bribery charges stemming from a years-long, pay-to-play scheme in which perks were allegedly steered to Madigan in exchange for favorable legislation.

With Democrats expected to have up to 73 members in the new House and 60 votes being needed for House speaker, Madigan is estimated to now have somewhere in the neighborhood of 55 votes from Democrat members.