With President Obama soon leaving office, the most powerful Democrat politician in the country remaining in office is a man with a tiny profile in the national news: Michael Madigan, speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives.  Joe Tabor and Ted Drabowski of the Illinois Policy Institute explained the extraordinary power of the Illinois speaker: … there’s another source of power the majority party of Illinois holds that allows its leaders a more underhanded influence over the legislative process and, ultimately, the daily lives of Illinoisans. That power emanates from the little-known legislative rules that Illinois House of Representatives Speaker Mike Madigan – who’s held that position for more than 31 years since 1983 – uses on an everyday basis to orchestrate the legislative and political outcomes he wants. Those rules allow Madigan to influence the makeup of legislative committees; how lawmakers vote; and when,...(Read Full Post)