Lake County Gazette

Republican state House candidate Dan Yost feels compelled to speak out about his opponent, state Rep. Joyce Mason’s, stony silence in the still-unfolding scandal involving House Speaker Mike Madigan.

“Exactly who does Rep. Mason represent,” said Yost, who is facing off against the Democrat Mason in the 61st District. “Nearly 72 hours after a press conference detailing the corrupt activities of Speaker Madigan, our state representative remains silent on the issue. Addressing corruption in our government shouldn’t be a partisan issue. I am calling on Rep. Mason to join me in demanding an end to the culture of corruption in Illinois.”

After nearly four decades of being in control in Springfield, Madigan now finds himself at the center of an unfolding federal corruption probe involving ComEd. Federal prosecutors contend 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.

To date, no charges have been filed against the state’s longest-serving lawmaker, but prosecutors have not been shy in asserting that the utility giant sought to “influence and reward” Madigan by providing financial benefits to those directly tied to him.

Yost argues Mason could also send the right message by returning the $740,000 in campaign contributions she’s accepted from him.

“This shouldn’t be difficult decision,” he added. “Is doing the right thing really too much to ask from our state representative?”

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.”

Yost argues he’s heard it all before.

“Rep. Mason is right about one thing: we do need more than partisan rhetoric to fix things here in Illinois,” he said. “Calling out corruption and standing up for Illinois families isn’t rhetoric and shouldn’t be that hard.”