Prairie State Wire

Swamp Tours: I got this thing…and it’s f’ing golden

By Swamp Tours | Dec 4, 2020

Welcome to Swamp Tours, a new weekly column written by a veteran Springfield observer and insider.

Swamp Tours: Power Corrupts. Absolute power corrupts absolutely

By Swamp Tours | Nov 20, 2020

Nineteenth-century religious and political scholar John Dalberg-Acton wrote "power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely."

Swamp Tours: You can take more with a briefcase then you can with a gun

By Swamp Tours | Nov 13, 2020

A young Mike Madigan arrived in Springfield in 1970. He learned quickly that success in state politics required working across party lines.

Swamp Tours: On Team Madigan, ‘If it ain’t white, it ain’t right’

By Swamp Tours | Nov 6, 2020

To understand the Springfield Swamp, you have to understand the relationships between the players.

Swamp Tours: That which is known need not be spoken

By Swamp Tours | Nov 6, 2020

In the first installment of Springfield Swamp Tours, we described how Mike Madigan created a Mafia culture in Illinois state government.