Roy F. McCampbell's Blog

For the second time in a week, Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan has parted ways with a top lieutenant in his Democratic political organization, this time citing “inappropriate behavior by a volunteer toward a candidate and staff” during a 2016 campaign.

While Madigan’s statement did not name the operative, sources familiar with the circumstances confirmed that it is Shaw Decremer. Democratic state Rep. Deb Conroy and several other staffers approached Madigan within the last week with complaints about Decremer’s behavior.

House Speaker Michael Madigan parted ways with lobbyist Shaw Decremer, pictured, recently after complaints of inappropriate behavior.

Conroy is a three-term lawmaker from Villa Park.

Decremer is a Capitol lobbyist whose client list includes ComEd, Dish Network and the Illinois State Medical Society. He’s also a onetime House Democratic government and campaign staffer entrusted with some of the speaker’s most important races over the years. He could not be reached for comment Monday.

Madigan’s latest move comes after he cut ties last week with political operative Kevin Quinn, an announcement the speaker made hours after the Chicago Tribune interviewed campaign worker Alaina Hampton, who shared text messages that detailed a relentless series of romantic entreaties from Quinn, her supervisor.

Madigan, who has weathered tens of millions of dollars in political attacks by Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner and Tribune investigations into how the speaker’s public and political interests have intersected over the years, now finds himself dealing with a burgeoning misconduct scandal involving longtime loyalists.

On Friday, Madigan sent a letter to House Democrats saying he takes “responsibility” for failing to ensure equality in the statehouse and on the campaign trail. “We must do better. We will do better,” he wrote.