SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Wednesday, January 13 is Inauguration Day for the 102nd Illinois General Assembly.
Lawmakers gathered in Springfield for their Swearing In Ceremony.
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Around 12:45 p.m., representatives-elect stood before Appellate Judge Mary K. O'Brien of the Illinois Third District to take their Constitutional Oath of Office.
All at once, the representatives agreed to uphold the constitution of the US and of the State of Illinois.
Illinois House Democrats have thrown their support behind a legislator to take over as speaker, backing Rep. Emanuel “Chris” Welch to lead the chamber as Michael Madigan stepped aside from the job he'd held for nearly 40 years.
Madigan issued a statement conceding that “it is time for new leadership in the House” after a morning Democratic caucus cast a majority of its votes for Welch, of the Chicago suburb of Hillside.
Madigan, the longest-serving legislative leader in modern U.S. history, failed in a Sunday test vote to get the 60 votes required to reclaim the gavel, largely because of a federal bribery investigation that’s implicated him.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
