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Happy Wednesday, Illinois, and Don Voyage
.By the time you read this, President Donald Trump and the first lady will have departed the White House for Palm Beach, Fla.
TOP TALKER
A worker preps for today s inauguration in Washington, D.C. | AP photo
The DePaulia
Nika Schoonover, Politics Editor|January 18, 2021
Illinois State Rep. Michael Madigan, D-Chicago, casts his vote for Illinois State Rep. Emanuel “Chris” Welch, D-Hillside, to be Illinois Speaker of the House as lawmakers cast their votes for the 102nd General Assembly for the Illinois House of Representatives at the Bank of Springfield Center, Wednesday, Jan. 13, 2021, in Springfield, Ill. (Justin L. Fowler/The State Journal-Register via AP)
Illinois Democrats ousted former Speaker Michael Madigan after his nearly four decades in office when Emmanuel “Chris” Welch was elected the state’s first Black speaker of the House. Welch is tasked with bringing the House into a “new era” despite questions of his past including several harassment allegations.
Associated Press file photo
Days after being deposed as Illinois House speaker, Michael Madigan has vacated his Springfield apartment, fueling speculation that he will resign the Illinois House seat he has held since 1971.
Madigan’s decision to vacate his apartment at Lincoln Tower, about a block from the Illinois State Capitol, was first reported by Mark Maxwell, a television reporter in Springfield.
Maxwell tweeted a picture of an open door at Lincoln Tower, leading to a vacant apartment without a stick of furniture to be seen.
“Looking more and more like someone other than Michael Madigan will represent his district in Springfield for the first time in 50 years. Spotted staffers clearing out his apartment furniture today. No official resignation yet,” Maxwell tweeted.
Justin L. Fowler/The State Journal-Register via AP file
Federal prosecutors say the coronavirus pandemic did not affect the grand jury that last year indicted key members of former House Speaker Michael Madigan’s inner circle.
Madigan confidant Michael McClain, former ComEd CEO Anne Pramaggiore, onetime ComEd vice president John Hooker and ex-City Club President Jay Doherty have all pleaded not guilty
in response to a 50-page indictment filed in November. It accused them of a long-term bribery scheme designed to curry favor with the powerful legislative leader.
Though Madigan has not been criminally charged and denies wrongdoing, the case helped lead to the end of his tenure as Illinois House Speaker earlier this week.
Federal prosecutors said Friday the grand jury hearing evidence in the alleged ComEd bribery scheme involving then-House Speaker Michael Madigan was not affected by the coronavirus pandemic.