The House That Madigan Built: The Record Run of Illinois'' Velvet Hammer
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- ISBN 9780252044472
- Weight: 567g
- Dimensions: 156 x 235mm
- Publication Date: 22 Mar 2022
- Publisher: University of Illinois Press
- Publication City/Country: United States
- Language: English
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Veteran reporter Ray Long draws on four decades of observing state government to provide the definitive political analysis of Michael Madigan. Secretive, intimidating, shrewd, power-hungry--Madigan mesmerized his admirers and often left his opponents too beaten down to oppose him. Long vividly recreates the battles that defined the Madigan era, from stunning James Thompson with a lightning-strike tax increase, to pressing for a pension overhaul that ultimately failed in the courts, to steering the House toward the Rod Blagojevich impeachment. Long also shines a light on the machinery that kept the Speaker in power. Head of a patronage army, Madigan ruthlessly used his influence and fundraising prowess to reward loyalists and aid his daughters electoral fortunes. At the same time, he reshaped bills to guarantee he and his Democratic troops shared in the partisan spoils of his legislative victories. Yet Madigans position as the states seemingly invulnerable power broker could not survive scandals among his close associates and the widespread belief that his time as Speaker had finally reached its end.
Unsparing and authoritative, The House That Madigan Built is the page-turning account of one the most powerful politicians in Illinois history.
