Edward Rell "Ed" Madigan (January 13, 1936 – December 7, 1994) was a businessman and a Republican Party politician from

Lincoln, Illinois Lincoln is a city in Logan County, Illinois, United States. First settled in the 1830s, it is the only town in the U.S. that was named for Abraham Lincoln before he became President of the United States, president; he practiced law there from 18 ...

. He served almost twenty years in the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

and was U.S. secretary of agriculture under President

George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushBefore the outcome of the 2000 United States presidential election, he was usually referred to simply as "George Bush" but became more commonly known as "George H. W. Bush", "Bush Senior," "Bush 41," and even "Bush th ...

Early life, education, and politics

Madigan was born in

Lincoln Lincoln most commonly refers to: * Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the 16th president of the United States * Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England * Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S. * Lincoln (na ...

on January 13, 1936. He attended Lincoln uniorCollege before starting his own taxicab business. He entered public service as a member of the Lincoln Board of Zoning Appeals from 1965 to 1969. During that time, he was elected to the

Illinois House of Representatives The Illinois House of Representatives is the lower house of the Illinois General Assembly. The body was created by the first Illinois Constitution adopted in 1818. The House under the constitution as amended in 1980 consists of 118 representativ ...

where he served from 1967 to 1973.

U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Secretary of Agriculture

In November, 1972, he was elected as a Republican to the U.S. House of Representatives, and was subsequently elected to nine more terms. Madigan narrowly lost the race for

minority whip A whip is an official of a political party whose task is to ensure party discipline (that members of the party vote according to the party platform rather than their constituents, individual conscience or donors) in a legislature. Whips ...

in 1989 to future

Speaker of the House The speaker of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body, is its presiding officer, or the chair. The title was first used in 1377 in England. Usage The title was first recorded in 1377 to describe the role of Thomas de Hung ...

Newt Gingrich Newton Leroy Gingrich (; né McPherson; born June 17, 1943) is an American politician and author who served as the List of speakers of the United States House of Representatives, 50th speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1 ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

. Madigan served in Congress from 1973 to 1991, when

Clayton Keith Yeutter Clayton Keith Yeutter, ONZM (; December 10, 1930 – March 4, 2017) was an American politician who served as United States secretary of agriculture under President George H. W. Bush from 1989 to 1991 before serving as counselor to the president i ...

resigned, and Madigan was appointed

secretary of agriculture The United States secretary of agriculture is the head of the United States Department of Agriculture. The position carries similar responsibilities to those of agriculture ministers in other governments The department includes several organiz ...

. Serving from 1991 to 1993, Madigan was the first Roman Catholic to serve as secretary of agriculture.

Death and legacy

He died of complications from

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma, is a malignant tumor that begins in the lung. Lung cancer is caused by genetic damage to the DNA of cells in the airways, often caused by cigarette smoking or inhaling damaging chemicals. Damaged ...

on December 7, 1994, at St. John's Hospital in

Springfield, Illinois Springfield is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Illinois. Its population was 114,394 at the 2020 United States census, which makes it the state's List of cities in Illinois, seventh-most populous cit ...

, at the age of 58. He and his wife, Evelyn, had three daughters. In 1995,

Edward R. Madigan State Fish and Wildlife Area Edward is an English male name. It is derived from the Anglo-Saxon name ''Ēadweard'', composed of the elements '' ēad'' "wealth, fortunate; prosperous" and '' weard'' "guardian, protector”. History The name Edward was very popular in Anglo-S ...

, a state park near Lincoln, was renamed in Madigan's honor. Edward Madigan came from a politically active family. His younger brother Robert Madigan served as the

City Clerk A clerk (pronounced "clark" /klɑːk/ in British and Australian English) is a senior official of many municipal governments in the English-speaking world. In some communities, including most in the United States, the position is elected, but in ma ...

for Lincoln, Illinois for several terms, then sat in the

Illinois State Senate The Illinois Senate is the upper chamber of the Illinois General Assembly, the legislative branch of the government of the State of Illinois in the United States. The body was created by the first state constitution adopted in 1818. Under th ...

for 14 years and finally concluded his public service with a brief term on the

Illinois Commerce Commission The Illinois Commerce Commission is a quasi-judicial tribunal that regulates public utility services in the U.S. state of Illinois. The mission of the ICC is "to pursue an appropriate balance between the interest of consumers and existing and em ...

. In 1984, Illinois native, and future congressman from Nebraska

Don Bacon Donald John Bacon (born August 16, 1963) is an American politician and retired military officer who has served as the United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative for Nebraska's Nebraska's 2nd congressional district, 2nd congress ...

interned in Madigan's

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, office.

References

External links

* , - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Madigan, Edward Rell 1936 births 1994 deaths Deaths from lung cancer in Illinois George H. W. Bush administration cabinet members Lincoln College (Illinois) alumni Republican Party members of the Illinois House of Representatives People from Lincoln, Illinois Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Illinois Secretaries of agriculture of the United States 20th-century members of the Illinois General Assembly 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives