The House That Madigan Built: The Record Run of Illinois' Velvet Hammer

Urbana & Chicago: University of Illinois Press. Fine in Fine dust jacket. 2022. 1st Edition. First Printing. Hard Cover. 0252044479 . Michael Madigan rose from the Chicago machine to hold unprecedented power as Speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives. In his thirty-six years wielding the gavel, Madigan outlasted governors, passed or blocked legislation at will, and outmaneuvered virtually every attempt to limit his reach. Veteran reporter Ray Long draws on four decades of observing state government to provide the definitive political analysis of Michael Madigan. Secretive, intimidating, shrewd--Madigan mesmerized his admirers and often left his opponents too beaten down to oppose him. Long vividly recreates the battles that defined the Madigan era, from stunning James Thompson with a lightning-strike tax increase, to pressing for a pension overhaul that ultimately failed in the courts, to steering the House toward the Rod Blagojevich impeachment. Long also shines a light on the machinery that kept the Speaker in power. But Madigan’s position as the state’s seemingly invulnerable power broker could not survive scandals among his close associates and the widespread belief that his time as Speaker had finally reached its end.Unsparing and authoritative, The House That Madigan Built is the page-turning account of one the most powerful politicians in Illinois history.. Both the volume and the unclipped ($29.95) dust jacket are in excellent condition; unmarked, tight, square, and clean. FINE/FINE.. Photographs. Large 8vo 9" - 10" tall. xx, 286, (1) pp .