Edward Madigan; Former Agriculture Secretary, Congressman

Edward Madigan, 58, 10-term congressman and secretary of agriculture under President George Bush. A moderate Republican from central Illinois, Madigan served six years in the state Legislature before moving to Congress in 1972. In 1989, he lost a bid for Republican whip to Georgia’s Newt Gingrich, incoming House Speaker. Madigan was the ranking minority member on the Agriculture Committee when Bush picked him to succeed Clayton Yeutter as agriculture secretary in 1991. Some of Madigan’s most significant handiwork as a legislator appeared in the 1985 farm bill. The House Agriculture Committee approved production limits and sent the bill to the House floor. But Madigan, who favored the free market approach, passed an amendment to kill the production limits. As secretary, he sought to make programs more farmer-friendly, improve nutritional education and increase research on new uses for farm products. Madigan endured some controversy when he admitted writing 49 overdraft checks totaling $30,000 on the House bank while he was in Congress. A native of Lincoln, Ill., Madigan was educated at Lincoln College. On Thursday in Springfield, Ill., of lung cancer.