Michael Madigan

Who is Michael Madigan?

Michael J. Madigan is the Speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives and Chairman of the Democratic Party of Illinois. He is the longest serving Speaker in state history, having held the position for all but two years since 1983. He has been a member of the Illinois House since 1971, representing the 22nd district, a mostly Hispanic area surrounding Midway Airport in southwest Chicago.

Chicago Magazine named Madigan the fourth most powerful Chicagoan in 2012 and second in 2013 and 2014, calling him "the Velvet Hammer—a.k.a. the Real Governor of Illinois." Rich Miller, editor of the Capitol Fax Illinois politics newsletter, wrote "the pile of political corpses outside Madigan's Statehouse door of those who tried to beat him one way or another is a mile high and a mile wide."