(The Center Square) – It was a sunny day Wednesday at the Illinois State Fair in Springfield for gathering Democrats, but looming overhead is the corruption cloud brought by former House Speaker Michael Madigan.
Aside from being speaker for decades, Madigan, D-Chicago, also controlled the Democratic Party of Illinois until 2021. Shortly after stepping down from office and from leading the state’s Democratic party, Madigan was charged with 22 corruption counts by federal prosecutors in a nearly decade-long scheme with utility ComEd. The allegation was that Madigan and others personally benefited from ComEd contracts in exchange for legislation favorable to the utility.
Four people connected with Madigan were found guilty of the bribery scheme earlier this year. This week, Madigan’s former chief of staff and House Clerk Tim Mapes faces a jury on charges he lied to investigators. Madigan, who has pleaded not guilty, faces trial next year.
Among Democrats gathering at the Illinois State Fair Wednesday for Governor’s Day, state Rep. Jay Hoffman, D-Swansea, said he hasn’t been following the latest around of what prosecutors called “Madigan Enterprise.”
“Bribery is illegal. It’s always been illegal. It will continue to be illegal,” Hoffman told The Center Square. “We’ve passed substantial ethics reforms recently and let’s just let them be put into effect and see how they work out.”
The Illinois House Republican Organization criticized the Democratic majority under House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch, D-Hillside, and said Madigan’s House rules that favored special interests continue to this day.
“Welch kept Madigan’s rules and Mapes’ methods of running the House – more power for the speaker, more perks for politicians, and more insider deals for their friends,” HRO Executive Director Tony Esposito said. “Next year voters will have a clear choice: a corrupt system that favors special-interest Democrats or new leaders that demand a balanced system of checks and accountability.”
Welch declined to be interviewed by The Center Square at the fair Wednesday.
Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias said Madigan was never a fan of his and did everything he could to make sure he didn’t get into the Secretary of State’s office. Giannoulias said “people are sick and tired of scandal and corruption.”
“So anything we can do to increase transparency and let people know exactly what happens at every level is important,” Giannoulias said. “We’re doing that on our side with lobbyist registration. We want to do everything we can to increase transparency from the Secretary of State’s vantage point.”
Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza said the message from the Madigan saga is that nobody is above the law.
“Even though sometimes it feels like maybe accountability doesn’t happen or it takes too long, that eventually it catches up to people,” Mendoza told WMAY.
Madigan served in the Illinois House between 1971 and 2021. He was speaker for all but two years from 1983 to 2021 and served as chairman of the Democratic Party of Illinois from 1998 to 2021.
