Coming up on Hitting Left
Coming up on Hitting Left
Chicago Tribune investigative reporter, Ray Long
On March 2, 2022, former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan, or Boss Madigan as I’ve always called him, was charged with 22 federal counts, alleging multiple instances of leveraging his powerful position to enrich himself and his allies.
An April 2024 trial date has been set in the racketeering case against the ex-House Speaker and his longtime confidant Michael McLain — two whole years after his indictment. That’s a long way off and more than a year after the upcoming Chicago mayoral election. But the fallout from the criminal investigation and Madigan’s long tenure as head of the state’s Democratic Party has already impacted the race for mayor in much the same way as the case against local machine boss Eddie Burke helped lead to the victory of an anti-machine candidate, Lori Lightfoot in 2019.
My guest on tomorrow’s show is veteran Chicago Tribune investigative reporter, Ray Long who is also the author of “The House that Madigan Built: The Record Run of Illinois’ Velvet Hammer.”
Ray Long began covering the statehouse at the beginning of Madigan’s historic reign as speaker of the House and had unique insights into how the boss operated.
Ray is the reporter who broke the story, co-written with Jason Meisner, about the current leading candidate for mayor, Rep. Chuy Garcia being named as the unidentified member of Congress referenced in federal court filings detailing an alleged scheme by then-Illinois House Speaker Madigan to appoint one of García’s political associates to a lucrative position on Commonwealth Edison’s board of directors.
He also broke the story of Alaina Hampton, the campaign worker who became a whistleblower after being sexually harassed by one of Madigan’s top aides. She was then driven from her job, shunned, and kept from working in her field by Madigan loyalists.
This should be a great show.