SPRINGFIELD – In an impressive move, Mayor Michael Madigan is suspending his campaign for the position he held for almost four decades after not receiving the 60 votes needed to secure another term, sources told the Chicago Sun-Times.
In a statement, Madigan said “this is not a withdrawal. I suspended my campaign for speaker.
“As I have said many times in the past, I have always put the best interests of the House of Democrats and our members first,” the statement continues. “The House Democrats Chamber can work to find someone other than me to get 60 votes for president.”
Fifty-one House Democrats voted for President Michael Madigan to remain in the position of power he held for almost four decades in his first round of voting at a closed caucus meeting on Sunday.
To remain a speaker, Madigan needed 60 votes. Although he was shy about that magic number, the powerful Democrat on the Southwest Side was the closest in the first round.
State Representative Ann Williams, D-Chicago, received 18 votes, according to sources present. Deputy Stephanie Kifowit, D-Oswego, who was the first to announce an offer against Madigan, received three votes.
With state deputy Kelly Cassidy, D-Chicago, voting present on Sunday, 22 House Democrats fled Madigan. There are three more than the group of 19 who had previously announced their opposition to his candidacy for another term.
And those 19 said on Sunday that they were not hesitating not to vote for him.
Madigan, 78, who is also president of the Illinois Democratic Party, was struck by the ongoing federal investigation into the ComEd influence buying scandal in Springfield. Madigan was implicated, but not charged with the investigation.
Madigan denied any wrongdoing and said earlier that he planned to seek another term and had “the support of a significant number of Democratic party members in the House”.
But the federal investigation has increasingly complicated his path to another term as president, a position he has held for almost two years since 1983 – more than any other president in the country.
ComEd is accused of sending $ 1.3 million to Madigan associates for doing little or no work for the dealership. Four of the speaker’s allies – including longtime confidant Michael McClain – were indicted in November.