AG Madigan Running For Re-Election On ‘Tremendous Record’
Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan speaks to a student loan forum in Champaign on August 16, 2017. Brian Moline/Illinois Public Media
The Illinois Attorney General doesn’t know much about her possible opponent in the 2018 election.
Democrat Lisa Madigan was in Champaign Wednesday for a student loan forum.
When asked afterward if she knew anything about Republican Erika Harold, who announced her candidacy for Attorney General on Tuesday, Madigan said, "No, I know nothing about her."
In her first campaign appearance Wednesday at the Illinois State Fair, Harold accused Madigan of not doing enough to fight corruption, but Madigan says her record speaks for itself.
"We initiated the investigation into Rod Blagojevich and all of his shenanigans, so there’s a tremendous amount of work that the Attorney General’s office does," Madigan said.
Madigan did confirm that she is running for re-election for a fifth term as Attorney General. She says she’ll run on her “tremendous record of working on behalf of the people of the state of Illinois.”
State Senator Scott Bennett (D-Champaign) speaking at a student loan forum in Champaign on August 16, 2017.
Madigan and State Senator Scott Bennett (D-Champaign) also spoke to the student loan forum about the importance of Senate Bill 1351, the "Student Loan Bill of Rights."
The legislation passed both chambers of the General Assembly in May along a mostly party line vote.
The governor’s office has said Rauner is reviewing the legislation.
Madigan and Bennett are pushing Rauner to sign the bill. Madigan says the new law would protect student loan borrowers by prohibiting lenders from misleading them, along with several other protections, including a requirement to inform borrowers of eligibility for loan forgiveness.
Madigan says part of her concern about whether the governor will sign the bill is because of his support for new US Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, who has rescinded several Obama administration student protections.
“And so the concern is that this is not an issue, like far too many, that he understands the impact that it has on students, former students, their families, and our economy,” Madigan said.