ABC News report:
On a golden plaque in the state Capitol that commemorates Illinois' long history of House speakers, one name takes up three entire rows: Michael Madigan.Guess who's Illinois' Attorney General? His daughter Lisa.
Now approaching 30 years in control of the deliberative body, the 72-year-old Chicago Democrat is the longest serving current House speaker in the country by nearly a decade and among the longest serving in the U.S. ever. His tenure was interrupted for only two years, when Republicans seized control in the mid-1990s.
No stranger to the challenge of piecing together votes for unpopular legislation while protecting vulnerable members of his Democratic majority, Madigan's famed powers of persuasion face a major test this election year as he works to convince reluctant members to support an extension of an income tax increase his party promised would be temporary three years ago.
