It looks as though the maestro of Springfield—house speaker and Illinois Democratic party chair Michael Madigan—may be up to his old tricks again, using roll call votes on past legislation to hammer at Republican legislators fighting for reelection on November 4.
Look, I know we should never put too much stock in anything one politician says about another during a campaign. As one north-side Democrat has so eloquently put it, “This isn’t a fucking bake sale; it’s the art of war.” But still, I’m not sure the Democrats want to head down this path.
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Filters the city tested also blocked access to the city’s own Web sites, she says: “I’m not sure why—maybe because of a link to the mayor’s Council on Gay and Lesbian Issues. The filters tend to block references to gays or lesbians.”
“I’m for the protection of children from pornography and sex offenders,” says Austriaco. “I’ve got two girls, 12 and 9. They’re on the Internet all the time. It’s about protecting children from offenders who are trolling the Web.”
Madigan’s known as a wily political operator who will do just about anything to build his Democratic majority in the house. But Steve Brown, Madigan’s spokesman, scoffs at the notion that the speaker called up HB 1727 just to burn Mulligan and other Republicans. “Gee, I don’t think we plan that far ahead,” says Brown. “I’d love to say we do, but we don’t. If that’s the answer Rosemary came up with, then it’s really time she stepped down.”
