Democrat Michael Madigan on Tuesday will try to extend his long run as Illinois House speaker, hoping that the widespread expectation of Republican momentum in this year's election doesn't turn into a sequel to 1994.
That's the year the Southwest Side chieftain tumbled from power, the only blemish since he first seized control 28 years ago, an exile that lasted but two years.
Madigan and House Republican leader Tom Cross, joined by Democratic Senate President John Cullerton and Senate Republican leader Christine Radogno, are dumping scads of cash into the most competitive races, hoping to tip the scales their way.
It's also expected the record for spending on a single legislative seat will fall, with the tab for one downstate Senate race projected to surpass $2.4 million, said Kent Redfield, a longtime campaign finance expert based at the University of Illinois at Springfield.
Redfield's comments were featured in an October 31, 2010, article in the Chicago Tribune.
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