Louis Stokes: “last month the people of the 15th Congressional District of Illinois lost one of their strongest allies and advocates…”

“last month the people of the 15th Congressional District of Illinois lost one of their strongest allies and advocates, Edward Rell Madigan. A man of his word and a man of the people, Ed Madigan served in the Illinois State Legislature for 6 years in the late 1960's before being elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1972, where he served central Illinois for 18 years. Ed Madigan then served as the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture under President Bush. Ed Madigan was a master political strategist and a fighter. He was tough, but his wide respect from Members of both parties gave testament to his fairness. He was a good man, and I know we were all saddened to learn of his passing. Ed will certainly be missed by those who had the privilege of working with him. Mr. Speaker, Ed Madigan epitomized what a public servant should be and his unselfish devotion to the challenge of public service was reflected in his commitment to meeting the needs of his constituents. He devoted many long years to hard work to crafting legislative policy that served not only his district, but the Nation as a whole. He never forgot where he came from, and he never forgot the people of Lincoln, IL. Ed's devotion to the Nation's heartland blazed the path for his ascension to ranking Republican on the House Agriculture Committee for 8 years.”