Illinois Transatlantic Slave Trade Commission 
Representative Michael J. Madigan was elected Speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives for the 94th General Assembly on January 12, 2005. He has held that position since 1983, except for the period between 1994 and 1996. Representative Madigan was elected House Democratic Leader in 1981 and 1995. He served as House Majority Leader from 1977 through 1980 and currently sits on the following committees: Committee of the Whole, Electric Utility Oversight, and Executive.
His work in the legislature has been consistently marked with honors and distinctions from a wide range of civic, community, educational and business organization. The Chicago Sun-Times twice rated him as one of Illinois' "Ten Best Legislators". The respected Illinois Issues magazine cited him as one of the ten outstanding Illinoisans who made the greatest contribution to the state in the past decade.
Voters in the 22nd Representative District first elected him as their delegate to the 1970 Constitutional Convention and then as State Representative in November 1970. He has won reelection in every election since 1970.
A graduate of Loyola University Law School, Speaker Madigan practices law in Chicago. He is a member of the City Club of Chicago and the Holy Cross Hospital Board of Trustees.
Speaker Madigan was born April 19, 1942, in the southwest side district he now represents. A life-long resident of the City of Chicago, he graduated from St. Adrian Grammar School, St. Ignatius College Prep and the University of Notre Dame. Speaker Madigan and his wife, Shirley, are the parents of three daughters -- Lisa, Tiffany and Nicole; and a son -- Andrew.