A picture may be worth a thousand words, but when an image is banished after decades on public display it can lead to plenty of discussion and debate.
Nancy Pelosi drew headlines in 2020 when she ordered the removal of four portraits in the U.S. Capitol of former House speakers who served in the Confederacy.
Nearly five years before that, then-Speaker Paul Ryan instructed that a portrait of former speaker and convicted felon Dennis Hastert of Illinois be taken down from outside the House floor in Washington, D.C.
Now, state Rep. Ryan Spain, R-Peoria, is pushing a before-the-fact proposal to cut Michael Madigan out of the picture at the State Capitol building in Springfield, WBEZ’s Dave McKinney reports.
But as of now, there is no portrait of the once-powerful Democrat hanging on the walls dedicated to past House speakers. More problematic is that Madigan, who on Wednesday was granted a six-month delay in his federal trial on corruption-related charges, has yet to be found guilty of any crime.
Madigan’s reputation, however tarnished and especially among Republicans, doesn’t count. Spain has jumped the gun before getting the full picture.
His resolution could easily have waited until the conclusion of Madigan’s trial, now scheduled for early October. Until then, Madigan has to be afforded the presumption of innocence.
And if Spain is so concerned over the Capitol complex halls being sullied by the likenesses of convicted felons — or potential convicted felons — why not push for a resolution to get rid of two oil paintings of former Republican Gov. George Ryan?
After all, Ryan, once a House speaker, landed in federal prison on political corruption charges nearly two decades ago.
Many taxpayers surely wouldn’t be thrilled to learn they paid for the larger of the two of Ryan paintings exhibited in the Capitol.
No stately picture of ex-Gov. Rod Blagojevich exists. Former Gov. Pat Quinn made sure of that by enacting legislation that kept taxpayer money from going toward such artwork honoring Blagojevich, who was impeached and served time in federal prison on corruption charges before having his sentence commuted by then-President Donald Trump.
If portraits of former elected officials tied to criminal activities or questionable behavior are to be banned in Springfield, there has to be a uniform standard applied across party lines.
Lawmakers could convene a bipartisan panel, create a list of criteria for taking down a portrait, and hold hearings to debate the pros and cons.
But most Illinoisans probably don’t want lawmakers quibbling about portraits instead of tackling more pressing issues.
Picture that.
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