Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan said today that family considerations caused her to pass on a run for U.S. Senate or governor and run next year for a third term in her current job.
“There was plenty of agonizing over my decision," she said at a Chicago news conference. “I have a job that I love right now and I also have a family that I love and I plan on continuing to serve as your attorney general because I think it’s absolutely vital to have an independent advocate in that office.”
She said the prospect of her father, Michael Madigan staying on as Illinois House speaker did not weigh into her decision. “No, I made a decision about what was best for me and what was best for my family and what I ultimately thought was best for the state at this point," she said.
Madigan’s decision stunned Illinois politicians, who saw her being groomed by her father for top statewide office in a state where he has been the longest-running speaker of the House.
Democrats in Washington, including her former state Senate seatmate, President Barack Obama, courted her for a U.S. Senate bid for the seat he once held.
Madigan initially rejected a bid for the U.S. Senate, saying she preferred to serve in the executive branch. But top Democrats in Washington began reaching out to her, contending she would be the best to assure the seat would stay in Democratic hands amid the political debacle that resulted in disgraced and ousted former Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s appointment of Roland Burris to the seat.
“There was plenty of agonizing over my decision," she said at a Chicago news conference. “I have a job that I love right now and I also have a family that I love and I plan on continuing to serve as your attorney general because I think it’s absolutely vital to have an independent advocate in that office.”
She said the prospect of her father, Michael Madigan staying on as Illinois House speaker did not weigh into her decision. “No, I made a decision about what was best for me and what was best for my family and what I ultimately thought was best for the state at this point," she said.
Madigan’s decision stunned Illinois politicians, who saw her being groomed by her father for top statewide office in a state where he has been the longest-running speaker of the House.
Democrats in Washington, including her former state Senate seatmate, President Barack Obama, courted her for a U.S. Senate bid for the seat he once held.
Madigan initially rejected a bid for the U.S. Senate, saying she preferred to serve in the executive branch. But top Democrats in Washington began reaching out to her, contending she would be the best to assure the seat would stay in Democratic hands amid the political debacle that resulted in disgraced and ousted former Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s appointment of Roland Burris to the seat.
