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Friday, February 8, 2013

Calling Madigan. « Fred Klonsky

Calling Madigan. « Fred Klonsky:


Calling Madigan.

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“Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions. With kindest personal regards, I remain sincerely yours, Michael Madigan.”


mmadigan@hds.ilga.gov ormmadigan@ilga.gov; (773) 581-8000 or (217) 782-5350.

I made myself a cup of coffee and sat down at my kitchen counter. It doubles as my office.
This morning I was going to call Democratic Party Chairman and House Speaker Michael Madigan.
He had written a letter to the We Are One coalition of public employee unions saying that he had no time to meet with them about pensions.
No time?
Well, maybe he had time to talk to me.
Coffe made, I was ready to call.
Either he was so swamped with phone calls or he preemptively turned off his Capitol office phone.
After a half hour of working the speed redial I gave up.
I wrote him an email: “Speaker Madigan, As a retired teacher and a member of the Illinois Education Association I am disappointed at your refusal to meet with the leaders of the state’s public employee unions to find a real solution to the pension problem.”
And then I called his Chicago office.
A woman answered and said she would record my message.
Record?
Like tape record?
Nah. She probably meant make a  note of.