Madigan Challenger Out Knocking On Doors In Hopes Of Upset
CHICAGO (CBS) -- There is a push to unseat arguably the most powerful politician in Illinois: Speaker of the House Michael Madigan.
Madigan is the representative of the 22nd District on the Southwest Side, five square miles, which includes Midway Airport.
He needed just 9,800 votes four years ago to win the primary election. CBS 2's Derrick Blakley introduces us to the man hoping to unseat Madigan.
Jason Gonzales and his supporters claim to have knocked on 30,000 doors and held 10,000 conversations in a quest to overthrow the state's most powerful politician.
"He is a major reason why Illinois is in the condition that it's in," Gonzales said. "He has to go."
A 41-year-old consultant with degrees from MIT and Harvard, Gonzales also had a teenaged scrape with the law: a credit card fraud rap at age 17 that earned him two months in jail.
"I was caught and I paid the price," he said.
Now, Madigan is using that past against Gonzales; spending big money on direct mail that paints Gonzales a criminal, and yard signs that call Gonzales a felon in big print while tiny print notes his pardon from former Gov. Pat Quinn.
"I've also tried to inspire people from my story to help them know that they can overcome any kind of obstacles," he said.
In much of the district, Madigan remains familiar and popular, and he intends to stay. The block outside Gonzales' Pulaski Avenue office just became a no parking zone until 3/16, the day after the election. Coincidence? Gonzales thinks not.
"He'll do anything, absolutely anything in his power to get reelected," Gonzales said.
Gonzales admits accepting major money from donors who also support Governor Bruce Rauner, but he insists he's a Democrat through and through, not a Republican plant.
Madigan's district is about 70 percent Hispanic, which may help Gonzales. Still, he knows who the underdog is…and it's him.
CBS 2 tried to speak with Speaker Madigan, but he wasn't available.
