The Machine is Dead, Long Live the Machine

Madigan's era is over and that's good. The power vaccum we have currently is not.

Author

H Kapp-Klote
February 13, 2025

Yesterday, former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan—the most powerful Democrat in the state for decades—was convicted on 10 counts of corruption after a long federal investigation. The charges include bribery, wire fraud, and conspiracy, tied to a pay-to-play scheme with ComEd.

Photo from Mack Liederman at Block Club. By the way: I hate this hat. It’s not important in the greater scheme of things, but it is important to me.

Coverage of the Madigan Trial:

On X, where I still can’t stop logging in, @ChicagoBars speculated that the lack of coverage demonstrates the disconnect with state politics: that most Illinoisans—outside of political insiders—have tuned out.

What Madigan did hurt all of Illinois — our taxes, our schools, and our energy bills.

Corruption is why your electric bill is high, why certain neighborhoods don’t get resources, and why a few people get rich while everyone else gets scraps.

Madigan controlled power through old-school political patronage, legislative maneuvering, and absolute control over the state Democratic Party. Nothing is going to take his place.

Now What?

Power in Chicago is increasingly decentralized, scattered, and in flux. There’s a vacuum at the top, and no person or institution has filled it, incentivizing opportunists like Alderman Ray Lopez and other right-curious political actors looking for their big break.

No single party boss means no single power center. And especially with the federal chaos, that means power is up for grabs in ways we haven’t reckoned with yet.

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