Will County Gazette

State Rep. Mark Batinick didn’t change his opinion of Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan when he learned the longtime political boss was enmeshed in a bribery probe.

“I said it months ago and I will repeat it: ‘Time to resign as speaker,’” Batinick told Will County Gazette.

On Friday, Commonwealth Edison agreed to a plea deal with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Chicago after a lengthy investigation into the state’s biggest electric utility and its secret arrangements with a legislative leader.

Rep. Michael Madigan | File Photo

As part of a deferred prosecution of a single count of bribery, ComEd will pay a $200 million fine and comply with all regulations for three years. If it completes the terms of the agreement, the criminal charge in the U.S. District Court of Northern Illinois will be dismissed.

Batinick, a Republican from Plainfield, represents District 97, which includes portions of Oswego, Montgomery, Naperville, Plainfield, Bolingbrook, Joliet and Shorewood.

He joined with state Reps. Randy Frese (R-Paloma), Margo McDermed (R-Mokena) and Tom Morrison (R-Palatine) on Monday to call for Madigan to step down.

“Madigan has created this culture of corruption serving as the leader he has for decades,” Batinick said. “It is not an ‘if’ he is guilty — this investigation is because of his leadership and the tone he set in his administration. This absolutely happened under his watch and he needs to resign regardless of if or when federal charges are brought against him.”  

The court documents released on Friday paint a seamy picture of how politics works in Springfield.

"The company admitted that it arranged for jobs and vendor subcontracts for Public Official A’s political allies and workers even in instances where those people performed little or no work that they were purportedly hired by ComEd to perform," the U.S. Attorney's Office said in a statement.

"In addition to the jobs and contracts, ComEd further admitted that it undertook other efforts to influence and reward Public Official A, including by appointing an individual to ComEd’s Board of Directors at the request of Public Official A; retaining a particular law firm at the request of Public Official A; and accepting into the company’s internship program a certain amount of students who resided in the Chicago ward where Public Official A was associated,” the statement said.

“Public Official A” was identified as the speaker of the House, a position Madigan has held for all but two years since 1983.

ComEd offered inducements to persuade the General Assembly to pass “legislation that had a substantial impact on ComEd’s operations and profitability, including legislation that affected the regulatory process used to determine the electricity rates ComEd charged its customers,” according to prosecutors.