Dan Gott, Republican candidate for the District 55 state House seat, joined several other GOP state House candidates this week in signing a “No Madigan” pledge, promising that if they win in the Nov. 8 election, they would refuse to vote for Michael Madigan (D-Chicago) to remain House speaker.
Gott was among a dozen-plus candidates who attended a press conference at Chicago City Hall this week, where they all signed the “No Madigan” pledge. The candidates used the opportunity to lay out their case not only against Madigan, but also against those whom they called the “supermajority of Democrats” in the General Assembly who refuse to change the status quo in Springfield.
“The reason I am running is simple,” Gott said during the press conference. “I am running to start the process to get rid of Mike Madigan.”
Dan Gott
| Contributed photo
The central theme of each candidate who took his or her turn at the podium to speak during the event was to spell out the significant problems in Illinois and tie them to Madigan, who is the longest serving speaker in the state’s history.
“Madigan is the problem,” Gott said. “He is the common denominator to the problems here in Illinois. We need to not elect those incumbent politicians who keep re-electing Madigan as House speaker.”
The pledge, signed by Gott, said he will, “upon my election and being sworn into office to the Illinois House of Representatives, refuse to vote for the incumbent Speaker of the Illinois House, Michael J. Madigan, to become Speaker of the Illinois House for the 100th General Assembly. Other than Michael J. Madigan, I am free to vote for any other elected member, Democrat or Republican, as I see fit.”
During his speech at the press conference, Gott summed up his view of politics and reiterated the urgency for voters to bring about change with this election.
“I am a retired engineer, having worked in the medical instrumentation field for close to 30 years, solving difficult problems and designing complex medical equipment,” Gott said. “Politics is not rocket science. It’s just using good old fashioned sense.
“What we need to do here in Illinois is to start the process to get a balanced budget with needed reforms and start moving along with the state to do tort reforms and workers' compensation,” Gott told the crowd. “Workers compensation in Illinois is almost three times the cost of what it is to do business in Indiana, our adjacent state.
“I believe that my opponent is a puppet for Madigan, along with other incumbent politicians who need to be removed from office. It’s time to end one-party rule,” Gott said, referring to state Rep. Martin Moylan (D-Des Plaines).
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