Will County Gazette

With the end of the Mike Madigan era, Rep. Mark Batinick (R-Plainfield) can start to see the possibilities in Springfield.

“It’s a new day and a new time, hopefully, a period when everyone will really start addressing the state’s real problems instead of just playing politics like we have for the last several decades under Madigan,” Batinick told the Will County Gazette. “This could be a big step for Illinois.”

Roughly month following being ousted as House Speaker after serving 36 of the last 38 years in power, Madigan said he would step down from his House seat in the 22nd District.

The state’s longest-serving lawmaker, Madigan, is linked to an ongoing federal corruption probe involving ComEd and a purported pay-for-play scheme.

Batinick said he’s seen the handwriting on the wall suggesting things would come to this for a while now.

“Elections have consequences, and despite all the money Madigan spent, Republicans picked up seats in November in what was supposed to be a wave election for Democrats,” he said. “I would say voters also stood their ground against him with the way they rejected the progressive tax he and Gov. Pritzker pushed for so hard.”

Madigan’s reign as Speaker officially came to an end in January, with Emanuel “Chris” Welch (-Hillside) being installed as his replacement. As many as 19 Democrats had vowed not to support his reelection campaign as the ComEd probe continued to play out.

To date, at least four known Madigan associates have been charged in connection with the scheme, including longtime confidante Michael McClain. Madigan has not formally been and continues to proclaim his innocence.