Mike Madigan won the Illinois state House speaker's post in a 65-51 vote. | File photo
Mike Madigan won the Illinois state House speaker's post in a 65-51 vote. | File photo
Newly elected state Rep. Mike Halpin (D-Rock Island) was recently targeted by the Illinois Republican Party in a robocall asserting that he had sold out his constituents when he voted for Mike Madigan (D-Chicago) as speaker of the House.
The matter-of-fact voice of "Chris" told listeners that Halpin chose Madigan over his constituents. Halpin voted in favor of Madigan's record 17th stint as House speaker.
"No one has done more damage to our state than Mike Madigan -- but yesterday, Mike Halpin chose to keep him in charge," the robocall said. "Halpin's refusal to stand up to 'Boss Madigan' makes clear that the only way we will ever get a new Speaker is by getting rid of legislators like Mike Halpin in Springfield."
The GOP also targeted Halpin on the BossMadigan.com website before he took office. According to the webpage, Halpin had received $75,000 in campaign donations from Madigan during the primary and $345,000 before the general election on Nov. 8.
It also implied that Halpin had been "bought and paid for" in an unsuccessful effort to dissuade him from voting for Madigan as the House speaker in January. Madigan won the speaker's seat in a recent 66-51 vote.
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