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 Madigan, who also is chairman of the Illinois Democratic Party, said
he plans to meet with Quinn and Senate President John Cullerton to
discuss filling the vacant position of nominee for lieutenant
governor. The three of them will submit the name of a candidate to
the party's central committee, which formally makes the choice.
"At some time, the governor and Sen. Cullerton and I will sit down
and talk it through," Madigan told reporters. "I expect that I will
be the one that will be called upon to communicate with the members
of the committee, which I'll do. We'll attempt to come to a
consensus."
Asked how much weight should be given to Quinn's preference, Madigan
said he would work cooperatively with the governor.
The Quinn campaign did not immediately respond to a question about
how much influence Madigan and Cullerton should have. Quinn did say
Monday that he planned to work collaboratively with the two
legislative leaders.
Madigan would not say whether he favors any particular candidate or
what qualifications the running mate should have.
Democratic voters nominated Scott Lee Cohen for lieutenant governor
last week, but he dropped out of the race after the public learned
he had been accused of domestic abuse, skipping child support
payments, steroid abuse and more.
Cohen's withdrawal puts Quinn in a unique position.
He gets a say in who runs with him for lieutenant governor,
something voters normally decide, but the ultimate decision rests
with party insiders -- a group Quinn never has been particularly
close to. Quinn and the Democratic Central Committee will be
juggling a long list of political questions, such as whether the
ticket needs a downstate candidate.
Madigan predicted a tight race for Quinn. He said the governor has
been weakened by the revelation that his Corrections Department had
quietly adopted a policy that allowed hundreds of inmates, some of
them violent, to leave after serving only days or weeks behind bars.
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Madigan said he is surprised Quinn didn't fire someone. "That's what
I would recommend," he said.
Quinn blamed Corrections Director Michael Randle for the "big
mistake" but said Randle had learned from the experience and didn't
deserve to be fired.
Madigan also took aim at Republican lawmakers, saying they have
refused to cooperate with Democrats on finding solutions to the
state's massive budget problems. He called them "nonparticipating
do-nothings."
Republicans argue that the Democratic majority routinely shuts them
out of budget talks, rejects their ideas and uses parliamentary
maneuvers to block their legislation.
[Associated Press; By CHRISTOPHER WILLS]
Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This
material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or
redistributed.
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