Illinois Rep. Michael Madigan's camp had an interesting response to allegations that the powerful House speaker was somehow responsible for slashing his opponent's tires: she did it herself.
In an interview with the Chicago News Cooperative, Madigan's primary challenger Michele Piszscor accused the Democratic leader of being behind the dent and slashed tires that appeared on her Honda Accord last fall. But Madigan's spokesman Steve Brown told the CNC that Piszscor's campaign efforts aren't formidable enough to have caught the representative's attention, and suggested it might have been a stunt to bring more attention to her campaign.
"Our experience over time is [that]…these things are usually self-inflicted," Brown told the CNC. "Those cases have been pretty well documented."
The vandalism charges may be hard to substantiate, but accusations that Madigan's people strategically planted candidates to manipulate voter divisions may have some teeth. Piszscor said her under-achieving opponents, Mike Rodriguez and Olivia Trejo, were hired by Madigan in an effort to split the Hispanic vote and more easily secure a primary win. (Piszscor is of Hispanic and Polish heritage.) Neither Rodriguez nor Trejo, who live a few houses away from one another, has filed the necessary paperwork to fundraise for their campaigns, or appear to have any promotional materials--not even websites, WBEZ reports.
Madigan's last Republican challenger was equally suspect. A longtime voter in Democratic primaries, Patrick John Ryan approached the race without a political committee, campaign fundraising, or support from the Illinois Republican Party, Chicago Magazine reported. Many suspected it was a ploy to make the race look more balanced without forcing Madigan to actively fight for the 22nd District seat.
Piszscor is mounting a grassroots campaign against the long-serving Speaker, and had said he is disconnected with his constituents.
"Madigan is the root of all evil here in our state," the Southwest Side native told the CNC. "He is the weed in our garden."
CLARIFICATION: The original version of this story indicated that Madigan spokesman Steve Brown spoke to NBC Chicago's Ward Room about the tire slashing allegations. Brown actually spoke to the Chicago News Cooperative, not NBC.