Will County Gazette

Veteran state Rep. Margo McDermed (R-Mokena) welcomes the new vibe she’s feeling in Springfield when it comes to longtime House Speaker Mike Madigan.

“In all the years of him being in control, the speaker has certainly been involved in controversy before,” McDermed told the Will County Gazette. “What strikes me as different this time is the sustained attention that’s being given to the corruption. Up until now, it’s always been kind of a one-off where people’s attention was easily drawn away. That isn’t so this time around.”

With Madigan now at the center of an unfolding federal corruption probe involving ComEd and a pay-for-play scheme in which payments and perks where allegedly steered to the state’s longest-serving lawmaker in exchange for his support of certain legislation, voters have now taken to protesting outside of Madigan’s home in hopes that he walks away.

Protesters have included members from several advocacy groups, including the Sunrise Movement's Chicago chapter, which chided Madigan with chants of "no dirty energy" and banners that said: "No dirty energy, no dirty money."

The demonstrations come as Madigan is also under investigation by a special bipartisan state House committee recently convened to delve into his recent conduct to determine if any disciplinary actions are warranted on the part of lawmakers.

McDermed said she won’t be surprised if the resistance doesn’t end there.

“With the U.S. Attorney’s office still investigating, even more is bound to come out and you can probably expect more activity,” she said. “Democrats are typically good at diverting attention, but again this seems different.”

Still, McDermed said she doesn’t expect anything to come easily when it comes to showing Madigan the door.

“I don’t see him resigning voluntarily as head of party or as speaker of the House,” she said. “He will not just give those chips away. Their two of the biggest he has and he may need them to bargain as the U.S. Attorney’s office probe goes forward.”

McDermed adds it’s almost a given that not enough Democrats will join forces to force his hand.

“He still controls the money and that makes a big difference for many of them,” she said.