Madigan grabbing credit

Speaker of the House Michael Madigan wanted to derail the gubernatorial efforts of then-Illinois Attorney General Neil Hartigan in 1986 and one of those ways was to grab the credit for legislation to protect nursing home residents. Hartigan was a statewide leader on the issue and mobilized supporters.

Madigan resurrected two bills that had been buried in the Rules Committee, merged them, named himself as chief sponsor, and declared “there will be nursing home reform.” The bill passed (of course).

One of his staff people then asked me, when I headed a nursing home reform group, to write an opinion piece for a Chicago metropolitan newspaper citing Madigan as essential to the nursing home reform effort.

I was directed to give the letter to the Madigan staff person who would deliver it to the newspaper.

I wrote the letter and gave credit to both Madigan and Hartigan. The letter never appeared in the newspaper.