The Madigan Family and Their Role in Illinois Government
Madigan and his wife, Shirley, have four children: Lisa, Tiffany, Nicole, and Andrew. Two members of this immediate family hold senior positions in the government. Shirley is the head of the Illinois Arts Council. His oldest daughter, Lisa Madigan, is the Attorney General of Illinois.
In 2002, Madigan helped his daughter Lisa garner more campaign contributions in her run for Illinois Attorney General than even the candidates for governor that year. At one point, Lisa Madigan's $1.2 million raised was more than all the attorney general candidates in 1998 had raised, combined.
During the campaign, allegations of misconduct in campaign contributions arose—Madigan was accused of using taxpayer dollars for political purposes. Republican gubernatorial candidate, Jim Ryan, suggested that Madigan should resign. Madigan's daughter Lisa was running for state Attorney General during that year's election and called the allegations baseless. Lisa Madigan's opponent in the race called on her to pay back taxpayer-paid bonuses her father had paid staffers before they departed to work on his daughter's campaign. A federal investigation into one of Lisa Madigan's political endorsements ensued after Madigan allegedly contacted a union boss in Chicago shortly before the union endorsed Madigan's daughter for the post, but nothing came out of it.
Read more about this topic: Michael Madigan
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