Madigan Says She's Not Running, Sorta

Lisa Madigan said last week she is NOT running for mayor. But she didn't say she'll never run for the office.

Las week, on WBEZ’s 848, host Alison Cuddy asked Madigan directly to confirm what Michael Sneed has been reporting in the Sun-Times: that she’ll be a candidate in the next mayoral election. Here’s what the attorney general had to say:

 If you win re-election on November 2, you would still have time to get into the race for mayor. There’s lots of speculation on that question. You have not definitively ruled out whether or not you will run. Will you run for mayor?

 Madigan: (laugh) I think I have. I just don’t think it’s been reported.

 Cuddy: Are you running for mayor?
 
 Madigan: No. My goal is to serve as your attorney general.

Madigan laughed when Cuddy asked her "Will you run for mayor?" Only when asked "are you running for mayor?" did Madigan say no. But we already know she's not running for mayor. She hasn't circulated petitions or formed an exploratory committee. But ambitious politicians know to over-commit themselves to their current jobs, so that statement left just enough wiggle room for Madigan to say "circumstances have changed," if, for instance, Chicagoans decide they're willing to overcome their distaste for giving the two most powerful jobs in Illinois politics to the same family.

[Ed. note: a political truism that makes this crowing from WBEZ's Vocalo nakedly overambitious. You don't like Sneed. We get it. Now put your pants back on.]

 During the interview, Madigan also talked about her efforts to stop banks from filing bogus foreclosures. Illinois recently joined a nationwide task force investigating allegations that banks have used inaccurate documents to obtain foreclosure judgments:

 We have now learned, because people from GMAC, as well as Chase and Bank of America have admitted that they were really rubber-stamping foreclosures -- in other words, fraudulently filing foreclosures in Illinois. My concern as the attorney general is these big banks, these large servicers, they’re not above the law, and so we have to make sure that people are given accurate information about how much they owe on their loan, who holds their loan, what were the original terms on that loan, so if there’s any chance of getting a modification, a mediation on their home, they have accurate information to do that.

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