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Madigan announced Wednesday he would back Angelica Guerrero
Cuellar, the candidate who received the second-highest number of
votes on Sunday.
Kodatt, 26, is listed as a former member of the House of
Representatives on the Illinois General Assembly’s website.
The Tuesday statement from Quinn, who represents Chicago’s 13th
Ward, and Madigan does not elaborate on the details of the
“questionable conduct.”
“After learning of alleged questionable conduct by Mr. Kodatt,
it was suggested that he resign as state representative for the
22nd District. We are committed to a zero-tolerance policy in
the workplace,” they said in the statement.
Kodatt, who is bilingual and of Ecuadorian decent, spent only
three days serving as representative for the 22nd House
District.
After Madigan resigned from his seat last week, Kodatt was
handpicked by Madigan during a committee meeting on Sunday of
the five Democratic committeepersons who represent the wards
within the 22nd District.
In a statement issued Wednesday through his spokesperson,
Madigan said the committee will meet again on Thursday to select
“a replacement for the 22nd District Illinois House seat from
the pool of candidates who already presented to the selection
committee.”
“I believe the most equitable way to proceed is to nominate the
candidate who received the second-highest vote count. It is my
intention to nominate Angelica Guerrero Cuellar,” he said in the
statement.
Vacancies in the 22nd House District are filled by vote of the
committeepersons who represent the 13th, 14th, 18th, and 23rd
wards and Stickney Township.
Each committeeperson’s vote is weighted by population, and
Madigan’s vote guaranteed Kodatt’s appointment, as his ward
includes more than half of the district’s population. Kodatt was
one of 10 candidates who made presentations to the committee.
Ald. Silvana Tabares, of the 23rd Ward, has the second highest
weighted vote.
Tabares voted for Guerrero Cuellar, who works with a nonprofit
community service organization in Chicago.
Ald. Derrick Curtis, 18th Ward committeeperson, and Vince
Cainkar, Stickney Township committeeperson, also voted for
Kodatt, and state Rep. Aaron Ortiz, who is also chair of the
Illinois Legislative Latino Caucus and is the 14th Ward
committeeperson, voted for another candidate.
The committee will meet Thursday at 10 a.m., at the Balzekas
Museum of Lithuanian Culture, which also houses the 13th Ward
Democratic Organization’s offices. The meeting will be open to
the public.
Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan
news service covering state government and distributed to more
than 400 newspapers statewide. It is funded primarily by the
Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation
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