Democratic state Sen. Lisa Madigan is hoping to make the leap from the North Side 17th District to statewide elected office Nov. 5 in her bid to become Illinois Attorney General.
A solid pro-gay, pro-choice progressive Democrat, she is facing off against a conservative opponent, Republican Joe Birkett, in the general election. Most of the attacks on Madigan center around the clout of her father, House Speaker Mike Madigan, and her lack of experience in the court system.
But the Attorney General is far more of a consumer advocate and legal watchdog than an actual trial lawyer, and Madigan's legislative experience is seen by many as invaluable to knowing how government works.
Growing up in the Madigan household, Madigan and her father argued about the abortion issue, but the younger Madigan always solidly supported the progressive side on choice issues. In the Senate, despite facing a backlash from the Republican Party and Senate President Pate Philip, from DuPage County, she solidly advocated for gay-rights bill HB 101, even though she never had an opportunity to vote on it because it was always blocked in the Senate. Her vote did help strike down a bill that would have given preference to heterosexuals when adopting children from the Department of Children and Family Services. She also helped pass a law to encourage families to adopt not just one child but any siblings of the child being adopted as a way to keep families together.
Madigan has also co-sponsored bills to ban hate crimes and has used her member-initiative funds to help provide money for AIDS Foundation of Chicago, Howard Brown Health Center and Horizons.
On her Web site [ www.lisamadigan.org ] , Madigan clarifies what the duties of the Attorney General's office are. "A lot of people think the Attorney General is the same as a prosecutor, but the truth is that less than 10% of the office's duties involve criminal prosecution. The other 90-plus percent includes: consumer protection, civil rights, environmental law, antitrust cases, public and private corruption investigations, civil litigation, collection of money owed to the state, and generally being the legal counsel to the state, its officers and agencies. And much, much more. Just about anything that falls under the general heading of advocating for and protecting the citizens of Illinois," she said.
Her experience as a practicing attorney specializing in employment law will serve her well if she is elected Attorney General, where one of the chief duties is fighting workplace discrimination. The AFL-CIO endorses her strongly. She is also endorsed by Personal PAC, the Illinois National Organization of Women, Equality Illinois, and Illinois Planned Parenthood.
In the early 1980s, Madigan traveled to teach English in KwaZulu, South Africa, during the heart of apartheid, to help young girls and women overcome racism and oppression and prepare for their future. Madigan continued her fight for children and women back home. As Assistant Dean of Wright College, she helped develop the Positive Alternatives Project, to offer neighborhood kids on the West Side educational opportunities to escape drugs, gangs and crime. In the legislature, she voted for numerous laws protecting women and children from domestic violence.
Republican Joe Birkett, who has no voting record to judge, has stated his opposition to the state gay-rights bill, and he has mostly shied away from the issue. In fact, an odd situation occurred this past summer, when it was reported that he marched in the Gay and Lesbian Pride Parade. In fact, he did not march and made sure downstate voters knew this. What actually happened was that he attended an Equality Illinois pre-parade reception. Madigan did march in the parade. Having grown up in the heart of Lakeview, Madigan said she was attending pride parades since she was young--and has always known and supported GLBT people.
Many supporters of Democrats during this election cycle have pointed out the importance of taking the Senate majority away from Republicans. While moderate Republicans have supported gay rights and women's choice issues, party leaders such as Senate President Pate Philip have blocked any attempt at even a vote on such issues as gay rights.
"Over the last 10 years, progressive legislation makes it through the House and gets to the Senate and then gets trapped in the Rules Committee. The Republicans of DuPage County don't let bills get on to the floor for a vote. They don't even allow hearings," Madigan said. "The reality is, when the Senate changes hands, this will no longer be a problem. We will have the opportunity to have a meaningful debate."
Madigan, as a strong leader in the Democratic Party, is hoping for a sweep of statewide offices, in addition to a majority of Democrats in the House and Senate.
