Will County Gazette

Illinois state Rep. Margo McDermed (R-Mokena) fumes longtime House Speaker Mike Madigan being incriminated in an ongoing federal corruption probe is proving to be an indictment of the entire Democratic Party.

“It’s disgusting that more Democratic House members haven’t stepped forward to call on him to step down,” McDermed told the Will County Gazette. “Seven months ago, I and other Republican lawmakers did a press conference where we called for his resignation over what was the beginning of this investigation and the history of sexual harassment allegations made against members of his inner circle. We said then this was not a person fit to lead the House and this has only made the fact that he presides over a web of corruption more clear.”

Madigan, who easily reigns as the longest-tenured lawmaker in the state, now finds himself at the center of a still-evolving probe into ComEd, in which prosecutors are on record in asserting that the company engaged in a “years-long bribery scheme” involving jobs, contracts and payments that were steered to him in his role as house speaker and chairman of the Illinois Democratic Party.

While stopping short of formally levying any charges, prosecutors contend Commonwealth Edison attempted to “influence and reward” Madigan by providing financial benefits to those directly tied to him.

“People in the state of Illinois have so normalized corruption that we think it’s OK for elected officials to operate where they’re clearly driven by corruption,” McDermed added. “Democrats have held control for so long and divvied up everything among their cronies, people don’t think of much of anything as being immoral and unethical.”

In publicly announcing the case against ComEd public, U.S. Attorney John Lausch noted the investigation is ongoing. The Chicago Tribune reports federal investigators have moved to subpoena Madigan for information, including “possible job recommendations.”

McDermed said she sees just one way to go in terms of bringing about the level of culture change in Springfield that’s needed.

“We’ve got to do a better job of educating voters to the point where they elect other leaders and demand that those still there truly start to work for their benefit,” she said.