“Pritzker did not answer a panelist’s question of whether Madigan should give up his party chairmanship, his speaker role or both.”

As Illinois Democrats turn up the heat on Mike Madigan for his mishandling of sexual assault allegations within his political organization, one Democrat has given Madigan his tacit support – J.B. Pritzker, Madigan’s candidate for governor.

But media outlets aren’t letting Pritzker off the hook for his refusal to answer a simple question that’s on everybody’s minds – ‘should Mike Madigan resign as Chairman of the Democratic Party of Illinois, House Speaker, or both?’

WCIA’s Raquel Martin reported [WATCH] that Pritzker is still reluctant to answer whether or not Madigan should step down from his top party posts. WCIA’s Marx Maxwell also reported that J.B. Pritzker still hasn’t answered said whether or not Madigan should step down. Martin also interviewed [WATCH] Daniel Biss, who confirmed everyone’s suspicions and declared that J.B. Pritzker is Mike Madigan’s candidate for governor.

From the Chicago Sun-Times:

Billionaire entrepreneur J.B. Pritzker sidestepped questions Wednesday about whether Mike Madigan should step down as state House speaker and chairman of the Illinois Democratic Party in light of the party leader’s handling of sexual harassment allegations within his own political organization.

Pritzker, who is backed by unions and heavy-hitting Democrats — many allied with the speaker — was asked twice during a Downstate gubernatorial debate whether he believed Madigan should withdraw from either role.

“He said he was going to answer the question but didn’t, because he hasn’t gotten permission yet from Madigan to answer that question,” state Sen. Daniel Biss, D-Evanston, quipped.

On his second try, Pritzker still avoided the question, saying an independent investigation prompted by Madigan “will determine who the perpetrators are and who is truly responsible.”

…Madigan has become a troublesome issue for Pritzker. The gubernatorial candidate has been slow to question the behavior of the powerful, but increasingly unpopular, party leader.

From the Chicago Tribune:

…Biss indicated he agreed. “It took J.B. Pritzker a week to get permission from Mike Madigan to even name him in talking about this sexual harassment cover-up,” Biss said.

…Madigan has been around “too long,” is “too powerful” and “has been a problem in the state of Illinois” and the state Democratic Party “for quite some time,” Biss added.

But Pritzker did not answer a panelist’s question of whether Madigan should give up his party chairmanship, his speaker role or both.

“He hasn’t gotten permission yet from Madigan to answer that question,” said Biss in noting the dodge.

From the Associated Press:

Pritzker took the brunt of criticism from the other candidates because he has not said whether long-term House Speaker Michael Madigan, also the Illinois Democratic Party chairman, should step aside over his handling of two cases of campaign workers accused by women of sexual harassment.

Either J.B. Pritzker genuinely thinks Mike Madigan is doing a great job as Chairman of the Democratic Party of Illinois, or Dan Biss is right and Mike Madigan won’t let Pritzker criticize Madigan on any issue.

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