Madigan's Second Successor In A Week Sworn In After First Ousted

CHICAGO — After Wednesday's resignation of Mike Madigan's choice to fill the Illinois House seat he held for 50 years, the longtime Democratic Party boss selected a second successor in four days.

State Rep. Angie Guerrero-Cuellar was chosen to fill the vacancy created by the ouster of Edward Kodatt after a brief meeting in the ballroom adjoining the offices of the 13th Ward Democratic Party organization.

Guerrero-Cuellar, who has worked at a community service nonprofit during the coronavirus pandemic, had been nominated by Ald. Silvana Tabaras, the 23rd Ward's committeeperson and was the runner-up to Kodatt by weighted vote. Madigan nominated her the second time, describing it as the most equitable solution.

"I'm anxious to move forward with the Angie Guerrero-Cuellar," Madigan said. "She's been active in our community, as you can read from her resume. She’s worked with various community organizations in the Southwest Side of Chicago. Therefore, she’s had good experience and understanding of the needs and the desires of the people of the Southwest Side, so I think she'll be a very good representative."

Speaking to reporters after she was sworn in, Guerrero-Cuellar said she was still processing the events of the previous 48 hours. The newly minted state rep also credited the determination and will of her parents, who came to the United States from the state of Puebla in Mexico.

"I'm a daughter of immigrants. My mom made a decision many years ago to come to the country, not knowing what would be her future," Guerrero-Cuellar said. "I had her stand next to me when I took that oath because this position is not about me, it's about her, and the choices that she made, and my dad made, and my older sister is here, and she helped raise me when I was younger."

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Guerrero-Cuellar said she had never met Madigan before and never really had a political mentor, but cited the U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg as an ideal. She said she hoped her daughters, who were present at her swearing in, would also be proud of the example she sets.

"My daughters have been very supportive," she said, "and [I hope] to teach them and to let them know you can have both. You can be a wife and a mother, and you can have a successful career in politics, and you don't have to pick one or the other."

Although Madigan, 78, was voted out as House Speaker last month, resigned as state representative last week and stepped down as chairman of the state Democratic Party over the weekend, he remains the committeeperson for the 13rd Ward, which gave him a controlling share of the vote to pick his replacement in the 22nd District.

Madigan and 13th Ward Ald. Marty Quinn pushed Kodatt to resign over allegations of unspecified "questionable conduct" by the 26-year-old staffer in their ward office. In a joint statement, Madigan and Quinn said they were committed to a "zero tolerance policy in the workplace."

Kodatt was appointed Sunday, only 72 hours after Madigan publicly announced his resignation, despite state law allowing 30 days to solicit nominations, gather community input and vet the background of candidates picked by a political party to fill vacancies in the Illinois General Assembly.

Madigan said Kodatt was asked the "proper questions" but declined to say if Kodatt's answers were truthful. Kodatt has not commented on the matter.

"The events developed as they developed," Madigan said. He rejected the notion that more time to review nominees for the position would have avoided the miscue.

Madigan left shortly before Guerrero-Cuellar was sworn in as the first Latina to represent the district, which has the third-largest Hispanic population of any of the state's 118 districts.

Under Illinois law, legislative vacancies are filled by the party committeepeople, with their votes weighted by the share of voters in their respective wards, townships or counties who cast ballots for the winner the previous election that last filled the seat.

As the nation's longest-serving legislative leader, Madigan has historically had a say in the district maps and state law that also now entitles him, Kodatt and Guerrero-Cuellar to a full month's pay.

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Guerrero-Cuellar said she plans to step down from her job with Envision Community Services, an organization that has been focused on COVID-19 safety and education, to initially focus full-time on her new job as a lawmaker.

Although she has a pending application to join her husband as a Chicago police officer, Guerrero-Cuellar said she would not accept the position if offered. She said she hoped to be as transparent as possible in her role as a state representative.

"Understand that we may have difficult conversations in the next few months," she told constituents. "We may not always agree, but I'm always willing to come in to the table. Don't disregard me because maybe you've never heard of me before, but understand that my heart and my dedication is to the people and to the residents of this district."

Related: Madigan Names Own Successor With 56% Of Weighted Vote

Madigan's resignation from the Southwest Side Illinois House seat he has held for the previous 50 years came after a group of 19 mostly north and west suburban House Democrats pledged to withhold their votes from him last year.

Commonwealth Edison's admission of a bribery scheme intended to influence Madigan —who has been implicated as "Public Official A" but not been criminally charged and denies any wrongdoing — may have been the tipping point in the speaker's departure.

But revelations about his political operation that emerged publicly amid the #MeToo movement led to the resignations of several top Madigan operatives, contributing to the fact it was women in the House Democratic caucus who first and most forcefully spoke out publicly against his continued control of the party.

Madigan's political committees would go on to spend $275,000 to settle a suit brought by a former campaign staffer who reported sexual harassment by Kevin Quinn, brother of the alderman and close Madigan ally, who reportedly received $30,000 in confidential payments from ComEd lobbyists and Madigan allies after he was publicly fired as part of the "zero tolerance policy" that contributed to Kodatt's ouster.

Related: Madigan's Hand-Picked Replacement Resigns Upon Request

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"The role that women have taken in politics, I think, that has also shown us to move forward," Guerrero-Cuellar said. "When people tell you you're not going to be successful or you're not going to make it."

Guerrero-Cuellar said Madigan told her that listening to her new constituents would be the key to success in the role, and said to reach out with any questions she may have down the road. She was asked for her thoughts on Madigan's political legacy after being sworn in to replace him.

"I have to acknowledge the legacy, I think, I have to recognize the legacy. There's good things that he's done for this community and for this district," Guerrero-Cuellar told reporters.

"But he's also been in office for so many years, and he's had the ability to do that. I've been in this position maybe 10-15 minutes, so I haven't really had the opportunity to look at everything," she said. "So the next few weeks are going to be me being dedicated and hard at work, and pushing forward and just understanding all of it."