He has been Speaker of the Illinois House since 1982, with the exception of 1995–1996 when Republicans took control of the chamber. Madigan engineered a Democratic comeback and regained his majority at the elections of November 1996, which he continues to defend today. He has feuded with other Democratic leaders since 2002when Democrats took control of all branches of the state governmentmost notably Governor Rod Blagojevich and Senate President Emil Jones.