North Cook News

State Rep. Tom Morrison (R-Palatine) argues it's long past time Democrats in Springfield came to the realization governing the state is about far more than just getting everything they want.

“When Speaker (Mike) Madigan says, ‘there is a strong majority of members’ who don’t want to meet for session next week, he is speaking only of his members, not the entire General Assembly,” Morrison told the North Cook News. “I strongly disagree with the Democrats’ decision to cancel our scheduled Veto Session. It’s a disservice to a growing number of Illinois residents and businesses who are rightly frustrated by our governor’s unilateral decisions and actions, which have grave consequences and demand scrutiny.”

Citing rising infection rates, Illinois legislative leaders recently canceled the Veto Session scheduled to commence this month. Not long after that announcement, staffers from the speaker’s office made their claim in an email about the widespread support they have from other Democrat lawmakers.

Morrison, who recently earned a sixth term in the 54th District by knocking off Democrat Maggie Trevor with just under a shade of 55% of the vote, isn’t moved by the claim.  

“Last May, we safely and responsibly met, and we can and should do so again,” he said. “We have a duty to our constituents to lead, not to continue to pass off our responsibilities to the governor and his appointees.”

As for Madigan, speculation is building his top reason for wanting to stay as far away from Springfield as he can might have more to do with his personal troubles as much as anything else.

The state’s longest tenured lawmaker, Madigan now finds himself at the center of an ongoing federal corruption probe involving ComEd and a pay-for-play scheme where all the perks were allegedly steered to him in exchange for favorable legislation.