Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan, Foe of Ballot Access, Loses Position as Speaker

Illinois House of Representatives Speaker Michael Madigan has been defeated for re-election as Speaker. He had been Speaker ever since 1983, except for two years when Republicans had a majority in the House. Under Madigan’s reign, the Illinois ballot access laws were made worse by the legislature, and all legislative attempts to improve them were killed.

In 1985 the legislature passed a bill saying that petitions for independent candidates, and the nominees of unqualified parties, could not start to circulate until 90 days before the deadline. Before 1985, those petitions could start as early as the proponents wished.

In 1999, the legislature moved the petition deadline from August to June. As a result of these two changes, the number of minor party and independent candidates dropped substantially.

There have been some improvements in some Illinois ballot access laws during the last 28 years, but they were all brought about by lawsuits.


Comments

Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan, Foe of Ballot Access, Loses Position as Speaker — 5 Comments

  1. I worked on a Term Limits ballot initiative petition in Illinois several years ago, and most people I encountered who were not Democrats really hated Mike Madigan. The guy has been in office since the early 1980’s.

  2. How many FED/State gerrymander monarchs in POWER for 40 plus years —

    since 1776 ???
    —–
    PR and APPV
    TOTSOP

  3. How soon before Chicago is even more dead than Detroit — loss of about 65 (repeat 65) pct of pop since 1950 — multi-multi-thousands of abandoned/destroyed buildings – houses, apts, storefront biz, factory bldgs, skoools, etc. — due to RED commie Donkeys ???

    Rot of northern cities related to escapees from racist tyrant ex-slave States in 1865-1964

    – often with USE FORCE FIRST *thinking* on each other [2020 Chicago shoot/kill on ghetto south side] — as was used on 1607-1865 slaves.

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