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There's a mini-flap over House Speaker and Illinois Democrat Chairman Michael Madigan attending a fund-raiser for U.S. House Speaker John Boehner in Lemont at the home of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Chairman Terry Duffy.
The speaker skipped Governor's Day at the State Fair last week and was not in attendance for President Barack Obama's trip to Illinois on the same day. But he showed up at a fund-raiser for Boehner. Spokesman Steve Brown said Madigan didn't contribute anything at the fund-raiser.
Oddly enough, Boehner had been in town partially to raise money for GOP efforts to fight the Democrat-drawn redistricting maps.
Tongues are wagging. What is the speaker up to? Republicans and Democrats alike interviewed by the Chicago Sun-Times were surprised by Madigan's attendance at a Boehner fund-raiser. What do they have to say to each other? Or was Boehner's appearance even the point of Madigan's visit?
I suspect the answer will eventually become apparent. Like him or hate him, Madigan is playing chess while the rest of the political state is frequently playing checkers.
Eric Fodor covered local politics and the court system since 2001 for the Daily Register/Daily Journal -- until he recently became an employee of Saline County. Before that, he dipped his toe in the water in Carrier Mills village politics, first as a village board member, then as mayor from 1996-1998. He then came to his senses and went back to college before joining the newspaper. While no longer an employee of the newspaper, he has indicated he intends to continue blogging from time-to-time.
