Will County Gazette

Former Illinois Sen. Jim Oberweis (R-Sugar Grove) hopes the ouster of longtime House Speaker Mike Madigan will pave the way for Springfield to become the place he thinks it was intended to be.

“It is my hope that the minority party will be given more rights under Speaker Welch’s leadership,” Oberweis told the Will County Gazette. “We really do need to put partisan differences aside and work for the good of the state.”

With Madigan still at the center of an ongoing federal corruption scheme involving ComEd and an alleged pay-for-play scheme, Springfield lawmakers recently banded to show him the door as Speaker, ending his nearly 40-year run, WGN reported. They elevated Rep. Emmanuel “Chris” Welch (D-Hillside) as his successor.

Rep. Mike Madigan | Stock image

“I was a little bit surprised that Madigan was not able to get the 60 votes, but I am happy that the democrats finally did the right thing and supported someone else for Speaker,” Oberweis said. “I called for Madigan’s resignation months ago. Unfortunately, at the time, there were very few democrats who joined with me in calling for his resignation.”

Given Welch's close ties to Madigan, Illinois Republican Party Chairman Tim Schneider hasn’t been shy about expressing his concerns about the new speaker not being the right man for the job of cleaning up Springfield, the Illinois GOP reported. He cited Welch's his own troubles that include multiple accusations in court documents of harassment, assault and retaliation against women.

“House Democrats have chosen to go from Mike Madigan, the most corrupt politician in America, to Rep. Chris Welch, a top Madigan lieutenant who has been credibly accused by multiple women in court documents of harassment, assault, and retaliation,” he said, the Illinois GOP reported. “It’s now clear that House Democrats are doubling down on allowing Madigan’s corrupt machine to continue running state government.”