Lake County Gazette

The Illinois Republican Party questioned state Rep. Sam Yingling's (D-Grayslake) loyalty to his constituents this week.

Yingling was asked whether he would support House Speaker Mike Madigan's (D-Chicago) bid to remain in that post, but he failed to give a straight answer to the question.

In a short video posted on YouTube by the Illinois Republican Party, viewers can see Yingling walking across the street. The videographer asked, "Do you know who you'll be voting for for speaker? Will it be Mike Madigan?"

Yingling did not turn around and kept walking as he replied, "I don’t know. You should talk to him."

While Yingling ran on a platform touting his independent voice in the state House, during the last days of the campaign, he received major contributions from two Democratic organizations. The website Illinois Sunshine revealed that the Friends of Sam Yingling Candidate Committee received $694,201.21 from the Democratic Party of Illinois on Oct. 29 and $977,688.20 from the Democratic Majority on Oct. 31.

The Democratic Party of Illinois is chaired by Madigan. The Democratic Majority Political Party Committee is officially affiliated with the Democratic Party and dedicated to electing Democratic candidates to the Illinois House.

After receiving more than $1.6 million from Democratic organizations, the GOP is questioning Yingling's loyalty to his constituents and campaign. Since Yingling will not answer the question, the answer will have to wait until the new House speaker is elected.