Will County Gazette

For Illinois state Rep. Margo McDermed (R-Frankfort), the recent silence in Springfield has been deafening.

“So far, the only Dem lawmaker to comment has an agenda,” McDermed recently posted on Twitter of the majority party's virtual non-reaction to reports that lobbyists with ties to Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan (D-Chicago) funneled money to former Madigan aide Kevin Quinn after he was shown the door amid accusations of sexual harassment. “Where are the rest of the folks claiming to support #metoo and an ethical standard higher than 'Where’s mine?'”

The only Democratic legislator to publicly take Madigan to task over his possible involvement is state Sen. Iris Martinez (D-Chicago), who is demanding that the party chairman either explain the situation or resign.

Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan (D-Chicago)

"Speaker Madigan must state what he knew and when he knew it,” Martinez was quoted in the Chicago Tribune after the paper reported it had discovered private emails that revealed the Quinn arrangement. “Give us some answers or step down.”

In McDermed’s eyes, it’s just another example of why she feels the longtime House Speaker has to go. She recently joined fellow GOP Reps. Mark Batinick (R-Plainfield), Randy Frese (R-Paloma) and Tom Morrison (R-Palatine) in demanding that Madigan step down.

“Amidst a #MeToo scandal atop the political and legislative sides of Madigan’s operation, the Speaker has again and again promised reforms while simultaneously protecting his allies,” McDermed said in a press release at the time. “Their response to sexual harassment and bullying has been to lie and intimidate the accusers while rewarding the harassers.”

The final straw for McDermed comes as Madigan has taken increasingly heavy fire throughout a number of federal corruption probes that are still playing out in Springfield and have already forced the resignations of two longtime Democratic state lawmakers. Over the last several months, Rep. Luis Arroyo (D-Chicago) and Sen. Martin Sandoval (D-Chicago) have both been forced to step down from office after being implicated in separate scandals. 

In the case of Arroyo, federal investigators actually took him into custody on charges of attempting to bribe a sitting state senator.

“Legislation that would have brought forth meaningful change was blocked while Democrats approved ethics reform bills that have no hope of improving ethics in Springfield,” McDermed said at a press conference with Batinick, Frese and Morrison. “Those who play [Madigan's] game are rewarded with key committee chairmanships and later many receive lucrative lobbying contracts and jobs, while those who stand up to these practices are punished. This culture of corruption denigrates our entire system of government and impacts families on a personal level through the ‘corruption tax’ we pay.”

Meanwhile, Madigan’s relationship with Martinez is known to be frayed, with the two recently battling over slate-making within the party.