The Madigan Rule Trailer

“The Madigan Rule” is a BGA podcast that takes listeners inside the story of how Speaker Mike Madigan ran Illinois--for good and for ill. 

Hosted by Justin Kaufmann, a veteran radio host who covered Madigan, Kaufmann talks with people who witnessed Madigan’s exercise of power: governors, lawmakers, journalists and politicos. They feared him and revered him and had no choice but to reckon with his rules.

It’s the Madigan Rule: a podcast about Illinois’ most powerful politician, featuring those who knew him well. 

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
I think it's a story more about Chicago than it.
Isn't like Mike Madigan,

Speaker 2 (00:08):
Michael J Madigan is the longest serving state house
speaker in American history.
This podcast is a story told bythose who know him well,

Speaker 3 (00:18):
Are you able to Harnish the cash to reward your
allies and punish your foes?
That just becomes another stepin that, in that power or that
Madigan held,

Speaker 4 (00:29):
It will stay too long and he might've stayed too long.
But if I was the governor and Iwas going to have to do
something tough, I sure want himas speaker try to open.

Speaker 5 (00:39):
I saw a very different side of the speaker, a
different side of him than I hadexperienced a side of him that
was friendly and engaging.

Speaker 6 (00:45):
A lot of the interest.
There was about maintainingpersonal power, as opposed to
what's the best policy outcomeinterest for the state of
Illinois,

Speaker 7 (00:55):
The black community.

Speaker 8 (00:58):
There was no HR set up in this organization.
So the only two options I had toreport it to was the brother of
my harasser or the most powerfulpolitician in the state.
Mike, Matt,

Speaker 9 (01:11):
The entire house stood up Democrat and Republican
and booed me for three minutes.
Standing ovation led by me

Speaker 10 (01:18):
And he said, Bruce, I do two things.
I manage power and I make moneyfrom managing power.

Speaker 11 (01:25):
What are what I mean that you're not going to see
anything like that.
He is, is he the last legacy ofthe,

Speaker 12 (01:31):
He made the rules.
He made the laws.
He knew how far he could go oneach one of those.
And of course the question iswhether or not he ever went past
him.

Speaker 2 (01:42):
Um, Justin Coffman joined me and the better
government association for thislimited podcast called the
Madigan rule.