Madigan Resigning from Illinois House

St. Rep. Michael Madigan on Thursday announced his resignation from the Illinois House after representing a Southwest Side district for a half-century, the majority of that time as House speaker.

Madigan remains chairman of the state Democratic Party.

On Thursday, Madigan sent a letter to the House speaker indicating that he would be resigning from the state representative post he has held since 1971. Later, a second letter to the Clerk of the House tendered Madigan's resignation, effective immediately.

Madigan had been House Speaker since 1983 except for a term in the mid-1990s when Republicans held the majority. This year, while a probe regarding Madigan's alleged ties to influence peddling by Commonwealth Edison was underway, he couldn't raise the 60 votes needed to be re-elected Speaker. Emmanuel "Chris" Welch was elected Speaker in January.