Will County Gazette

Illinois House Speaker Jim Durkin commented on the potential political impacts of former Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan's not-guilty plea on federal racketeering and bribery charges in a statement provided to the Will County Gazette.

"Today's plea of Not Guilty by former speaker Mike Madigan in the federal court in Chicago to the superseding indictment with ComEd and the AT&T scandal should be a stark reminder of what the Democrat Party of Illinois has done to Illinois," Durkin said. "If you played by the Madigan Rules, big corporations, or the little guy, you had to pay to play. If not you lost in that Arena."

"Haven't we seen enough over the past few years? It's one Democrat House member after another that has been indicted and has either pleaded guilty serving their time or waiting to go to trial for some type of Scandal for what they committed and what they did as sitting members of the House of Representatives," Durkin continued. "I will just say that it's time to go back and revisit that terrible ethics Reform Bill that was a sham that was introduced and passed last year and let's get to the simple issue. Let's get legislators out of the business of lobbying."

According to ABC7, Madigan entered his not-guilty plea on November 1, with his case now scheduled for court on November 17. Prosecutors argued that Madigan was the head of a criminal enterprise meant to enhance his political power and financial status. They also argued that he had been generating revenue for his allies and associates for approximately a decade. 

Madigan was originally indicted on 22 counts, including bribery and racketeering, in March. Co-defendant Michael McClain's attorney also pleaded not guilty on all counts. AT&T Illinois also recently agreed to pay a $23 million fine for attempting to illegally sway Madigan by giving $22,500 to one of his allies in exchange for legislative support.