The nation's #1 ranking legislative leader is from...you guessed it...Illinois. The National Conference for State Legislators' blogger Karl Kurtz points out that House Speaker Mike Madigan boasts the longest tenure of any other leader in the nation -- since 1983, except for 1995 to 1996 (Remember the 1994 GOP sweep?) So, the unparalled political power of Speaker Madigan in the nation's #1 most corrupt state gets national attention...
The ever-popular question of who the longest-serving legislative leader is has come up again. Since the last time we wrote about this in 2006, the rankings have changed and, as always, the answer depends on the exact wording of the question.
Illinois Speaker Mike Madigan (right) has the longest tenure of any presiding officer. First elected speaker in 1983, he is now in his 21st year as speaker with a two-year hiatus in 1995-96 when he served as minority leader.
Because of that loss of majority status, Madigan does not have the longest consecutive service. That honor belongs to Maryland Senate President Mike Miller, who was first elected in 1987. Miller is the longest serving top senate leader, consecutive or otherwise.
