Lake County Gazette

State Rep. David McSweeney (R-Barrington Hills) is demanding that Gov. J.B. Pritzker convene a special session of the legislature to elect a new leader in the wake of longtime House Speaker Mike Madigan being implicated in an ongoing federal corruption probe.

Madigan, who easily reigns as the longest-tenured lawmaker in the state, now finds himself at the center of a still-evolving probe into ComEd, in which prosecutors are on record in asserting that the company 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.

As bad as McSweeney thinks Madigan needs to go, he is just as adamant about making sure what he sees as the right kind of person is installed as his replacement.

“We should elect a GOP reformer, not corrupt Jim Durkin,” he told the Lake County Gazette.

As for Madigan, while stopping short of formally levying any charges, prosecutors contend Commonwealth Edison attempted to “influence and reward” the state Democratic Party chairman by providing financial benefits to those directly tied to him.

“The governor should immediately call a special session for real ethics reform right now this week,” McSweeney added. “We should also have a vote on who should be the speaker.”

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.”