CHICAGO — Angelica Guerrero-Cuellar on Thursday became the second replacement in four days for the Illinois House seat held by former Speaker Michael Madigan following a meeting of local Southwest Side ward and township committeemen.
Guerrero-Cuellar succeeds Madigan’s original hand-picked successor, Edward Guerra Kodatt, who resigned Wednesday after the former speaker and 13th Ward Alderman Marty Quinn called on him to step down for unspecified “alleged questionable conduct.”
Kodatt, 26, named by Madigan to the 22nd House seat vacancy on Sunday, also resigned his city job as an assistant in Quinn’s ward office. On Thursday, Madigan said he believed Kodatt had been vetted, including during questioning before his nomination. Asked if Kodatt truthfully answered vetting questions, Madigan declined to answer.
The abrupt moves over the vacancy created by Madigan’s resignation last week was in sharp contrast to the hands-on, detail-oriented style the ex-speaker has displayed in running his ward and district office.
Madigan, who controls 56% of the weighted vote of the district’s ward and township committeemen as head of the 13th Ward Democratic organization, had said he would support Guerrero-Cuellar, the runner-up in Sunday’s voting.
Guerrero-Cuellar, who was nominated by 23rd Ward Alderwoman Silvana Tabares, has volunteered at several community agencies that provide services to people in the country without legal permission and is married to a Chicago police officer.
Guerrero-Cuellar had a paid position on the unsuccessful 2018 Cook County Board campaign of Angie Sandoval, according to two sources familiar with her role in the campaign. She received more than $9,500 for her campaign work, records showed.
