North Cook News

Veteran state Rep. Tom Morrison (R-Palatine) fumes there’s a method to the madness in the way longtime House Speaker Mike Madigan keeps his ironclad grip on Springfield.

"Mike Madigan has been a state representative since 1971 and he’s been House speaker all but two years since 1983,” Morrison told North Cook News. “He and his political organization have been so active in suburban races because they are the key to the retention of his speaker position. Only state representatives get to vote for Speaker -- a very powerful position because no bill will ever get to the governor’s desk without first getting through the Illinois House.”

Convinced nothing in Springfield can really change until Madigan is long gone, Morrison is now keeping close watch over a still bubbling federal corruption probe into ComEd where the longest serving lawmaker in state history finds himself at the center. Madigan, who easily reigns as the longest-tenured lawmaker in the state, is asserted by prosecutors to be engaged in a “years-long bribery scheme” involving jobs, contracts and payments that were steered to him in his role as house speaker and chairman of the Illinois Democratic Party.

While stopping short of formally levying any charges, prosecutors contend Commonwealth Edison attempted to “influence and reward” Madigan by providing financial benefits to those directly tied to him.

Morrison remembers taking to the House floor back in 2017 in a futile attempt to halt a ComEd/Exelon bailout bill in his tracks.

“In their press conference today, the U.S. Attorney’s office called this ‘an intentional and premeditated effort to undermine fair trade,’ he said. “Not only that, but they let down employees, customers and Illinois residents that expect and deserve better. A portion of those costs are visible on every customer’s ComEd bill.”

In publicly announcing the case against ComEd public, U.S. Attorney John Lausch noted the investigation is ongoing. The Chicago Tribune reports federal investigators have moved to subpoena Madigan for information, including “possible job recommendations.”

In a statement, a spokesperson for Madigan said he plans to cooperate with the probe, adding “The speaker has never helped someone find a job with the expectation that the person would not be asked to perform work by their employer, nor did he ever expect to provide anything to a prospective employer if it should choose to hire a person he recommended.”

Morrison said he simply wants accountability.

“We need ethics reform now more than ever,” he said. “We need the majority party to understand and accept this urgency and we need Illinois residents to continue to demand it until it happens.”