State Rep. Marty Moylan denied recently that he received money from House Speaker Michael Madigan. However, state records showed his campaign received nearly $1 million.
State Rep. Marty Moylan denied recently that he received money from House Speaker Michael Madigan. However, state records showed his campaign received nearly $1 million.
State Rep. Marty Moylan (D-Des Plaines) told a group attending a League of Women Voters of Park Ridge candidate forum recently that “I do not take (campaign) money from Michael Madigan,” the controversial Democratic Speaker of the House
But Illinois State Board of Elections records show that between 2012 and 2018, Moylan received nearly $1 million from three Madigan campaign committees, both in direct donations and in-kind contributions (where the donor covers the cost of mailers or other services).
Moylan denied taking the Madigan money, after his opponent in the 55th, Republican Marilyn Smolenski of Park Ridge, brought up Moylan’s ties to Madigan and the “million dollar” donations.
Republican Marilyn Smolenski is running for a House seat in the 55th District.
In his denial, Moylan said that he accepts money from electricians, carpenters, lawyers and people who live in the district
“I do not take money from Michael Madigan,” he said.
Board of Elections records list the three Madigan committees and the amounts deposited into Moylan’s campaigns:
Democratic Majority - $131,363.18;
Friends of Michael J. Madigan - $42,195.20;
Democratic Party Of Illinois - $807,683.26;
The total tally - $981,241.64
The donations range from in-kind contributions for office supplies, stamps and staff salaries to direct donations in the tens of thousands of dollars.
Moylan, who is seeking his fourth term, also twice evaded answering whether he would support Madigan for Speaker next session.
Old-fashioned Democratic machine politics
Madigan has been blamed for being the architect of an old-fashioned style of machine politics in Springfield that has led to near bankruptcy for the state of Illinois and the nation’s highest taxes for its residents.
First time Republican candidate Smolenski told the Daily Herald before the forum that her independence from both Madigan and Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner will result in bipartisan support for her on November 6.
"A lot of Democrats and independents I'm speaking to say Madigan is the reason the state is the way that it is," she told the paper. "What can we do about Madigan? Well, what you can do is stop voting for people who vote for Madigan. And my opponent has voted for Madigan all three times.
"(Moylan) votes for what he can vote for, what he's told to vote for, period," Smolenski continued. "And if he wasn't doing what Madigan wanted him to, Madigan wouldn't have given him $1 million.”
The 55th State House District includes large portions of Des Plaines, Elk Grove and Park Ridge, along with smaller portions of Arlington Heights, Mount Prospect, Rolling Meadows and Chicago’s far Northwest side.
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