Jim Dodge thinks Democrats recently re-electing House Speaker Mike Madigan (D-Chicago) as chairman of the state party is just the latest example of their years of bad decision making.
“Mike Madigan is the center of the Democratic universe, so it’s not a surprise that those in Springfield are sticking with him,” Dodge told the Prairie State Wire. “The thing is everybody else in the state has grown tired of Madigan and the financial mess all these years of Democratic rule has left us in.”
Democrats recently moved to install the 76-year-old Madigan as the longest-tenured Democratic chairman in state history, with his re-election coming despite the fallout of a still simmering sexual harassment and abuse scandal that has gripped his office and lead to the ouster of two of his campaign associates while triggering demands for him to step down over his handling of the situation.
And then there is his still running feud with Gov. Bruce Rauner over each man’s differing policies and philosophies for the state.
“If Illinois wants to get back on the right track we need to move away from Democratic rule,” Dodge, an Orland Park Republican who is running for state treasurer, said. “Voters understand what needs to happen; it’s just a matter of if enough of them are willing to step up.”
Dodge said it perplexes him that Democrats like gubernatorial candidate J.B. Pritzker are still pushing for more taxes at a time when the state already has some of the highest burdens in the country.
“Progressive and liberals are still pushing for more,” he said. “I think Pritzker’s idea of a progressive tax is precisely the wrong think for where we are right now and where we need to be striving to go. The challenge for Republicans is to clearly make our case for change and how we will go about putting it in place.”
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