The last time a Republican held the office of Illinois attorney general, Mayor Richard M. Daley was firmly ensconced in his reign, the musical “Chicago” had become a box office smash and the shoe bomber, Richard Reid, pleaded guilty to trying to take down an American Airlines flight over the Atlantic Ocean.
Jim Ryan was the state’s last GOP AG, handing over the reins in January 2003 to Democrat Lisa Madigan, daughter of longtime Illinois House Speaker and Democratic kingmaker Michael Madigan. Democrat Kwame Raoul holds the office now, and in November will face one of three Republicans vying for the GOP nomination in the June 28 primary: Steve Kim, David Shestokas and Thomas DeVore.
The attorney general is the state’s chief lawyer. Officeholders historically have also made championing the cause of consumers a signature duty. That’s laudable, important work. But in the years Democrats have held the post, fighting corruption has been noticeably missing from the office’s to-do list. We’ve lamented this many times, observing in 2018 that because of her father’s all-powerful clout in Illinois politics, Lisa Madigan “had to punt this crucial duty to federal and local prosecutors.”
