Will County Gazette

Republican State Senate candidate for the 49th District Thomas Scott McCullagh is happy that former House Speaker Mike Madigan (D-Chicago) will finally be gone from the state legislature.

“I couldn’t be happier that Madigan’s reign is finally ending," McCullagh said in an interview with the Will County Gazette. "I hope Illinois can move past the rampant corruption that Madigan has embodied and finally start to heal as a state."

McCullagh said Madigan needs to also resign from the state Democratic Party.

"I further believe Madigan should resign his position as state party chair as well, to fully let the state political spectrum reset and begin to re-align — without him at its center," McCullagh said.

"It's no secret that I have been the target of vicious attacks by people who sought to diminish my many achievements lifting up the working people of Illinois," Madigan said in his resignation letter, 7ABC reported. "The fact is, my motivation for holding elected office has never wavered. I have been resolute in my dedication to public service and integrity, always acting in the interest of the people of Illinois.” 

Madigan was replaced last month by Rep. Chris Welch as the speaker. He has been in the state legislature for 50 years and was House Speaker for more than 35 years.

Madigan will have the ability to handpick his successor, the Chicago Sun-Times reported. He holds 56 percent of the weighted vote when it comes to who replaces him, while Ald. Silvana Tabares (23rd), who is a close ally of Madigan’s, holds 31 percent of the weighted vote.