(WSIL) -- Former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan, the longest serving state House Speaker in U.S. History, has been charged with racketeering and bribery.
Charging documents unsealed Wednesday accuse the 79-year-old Chicago Democrat of 22 counts of leading a criminal enterprise whose purpose was to enhance the political power and financial well-being of Madigan and his allies.
Lawmakers across the state have issued their own thoughts on the situation, including Rep. Dave Severin (R-Benton).Â
"How deep and wide does this go? I don't believe it's over, and it takes some time I know you want something to happen quickly, but it takes some time to put all of this together and to make sure there are no loopholes, which is a word that's used in this state on a regular basis.
Speaker Madigan ran the House of Representatives with an iron fist. It is my hope that Madigan’s indictment on racketeering and bribery charges today will mean the people of the State of Illinois will be able to exact some measure of justice for the culture of corruption he fostered as the most powerful politician in the history of the State of Illinois, and that all those politicians that enabled his reign to continue under a swirling dark cloud would join me in demanding Madigan be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law.�
Sen. Dale Fowler (R-Harrisburg) said this moment was a long-time coming.Â
“While today’s news was long awaited and no surprise considering our state’s history with public corruption, it further solidifies the greater need for ethics reform across our state.
“With four weeks left of the Spring legislative session there is still plenty of time to beef up ethics reform in our state. My Republican colleagues have filed meaningful ethics reform legislation and while the Feds did a tremendous job, I hope today’s announcement is proof enough to the Majority party that we should be empowering officials here in Illinois to investigate and prosecute corruption so we don’t have to continuously rely on federal investigators.�
Representative Patrick Windhorst (R-Metropolis) said this demonstrates the need for Illinois to move quickly to enact strong anti-corruption reforms.Â
“I want to thank the FBI, IRS and members of the United States Attorney’s office of Illinois for their exhaustive work investigating the massive public corruption scandal that has culminated in today’s indictment of former Speaker Mike Madigan. This indictment outlines the alleged decade-long criminal enterprise run by former Speaker Madigan and enabled by many around him. The Illinois General Assembly must take immediate steps to root out public corruption in Illinois by strengthening our ethics laws. The people of Illinois deserve a government worthy of their trust and the passage of a sweeping package of reforms to prevent any politician from ever abusing public trust and a powerful public office this way again.�
Rep. Paul Jacobs (R-Pomona) said sweeping reforms to prevent a future Madigan-style reign need to be put in place.Â
"Speaker Madigan consolidated the most power for the longest period of time of any politician in the history of the State of Illinois. They say power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely, and I believe that is what was revealed by the US Attorney's office upon news of today's indictment. Corrupt politicians using public office for personal profit is not new in Illinois, and today's indictment reveals allegations that Speaker Madigan was working not for public service, but for self-service. These allegations are disturbing, and underline the urgent need for the Illinois General Assembly to enact strong and sweeping anti-corruption reforms immediately. I hope my colleagues on the Democrat side of the aisle, those that aided and abetted Speaker Madigan's political reign are paying attention, and that they join me to pass badly needed ethics reforms to prevent this kind of corruption from overtaking our state ever again."
Leaders for the Illinois Republican Party are speaking out against Madigan and in support of the recent indictment.Â
House Republican Leader Jim Durkin said, "Illinois deserves better. This is another chapter in the sad story of corruption that has pervaded every corner of the state that was touched by Mike Madigan and his Democrat enablers and has dismantled true democracy in Illinois. Today, the same Democrats who empowered Madigan are still blocking real ethics reform just like they blocked the Special Investigating Committee that was created to get to the bottom of Madigan’s corrupt activities.�
Senate Republican Leader Dan McConchie released a statement saying, "Madigan’s indictment is testament to the outstanding work of federal investigators, who have taken tremendous steps in the long process of rooting out public corruption in Illinois. However, the people of Illinois shouldn’t have to rely on the Feds to continuously clean up the state’s mess. Today’s announcement underscores the need to empower officials here in Illinois to investigate and prosecute misconduct and corruption of its own public officials. Senate Republicans, as they have for several years now, continue to advocate for the use of a statewide grand jury so we are no longer beholden to the federal government, and we can begin to restore the public’s trust within our own capacity.�
