Lake County Gazette

Veteran state Sen. Craig Wilcox (R-McHenry) grows philosophical when it comes to assessing the latest round of corruption in Springfield.

“Serving should never include ‘self’ before the act as in self-serving," Wilcox said. “It is disappointing to see another legislator charged, but not surprising, as corruption appears to still be rampant in Illinois, despite past arrests, indictments and convictions.”

Federal prosecutors recently charged longtime state Sen. Terry Link (D-Vernon Hills) with tax invasion, marking the third time in just over the last 12 months a Democratic state senator has been slapped felony charges. Filed in U.S. District Court, investigators allege the 73-year-old Link, who serves on the state’s Legislative Ethics Commission, neglected to report income on his 2016 tax return to federal authorities.

With longtime House Speaker Mike Madigan (D-Chicago) now also under federal probe stemming from an ongoing investigation involving utility giant ComEd and a pay-for-play scandal, Wilcox fumes it’s just more of the same in Springfield.

“The real victims of ComEd’s fraudulent behavior are their consumers, the hard-working families of Illinois,” Wilcox told the Lake County Gazette. “It is only fair that any financial restitution ComEd is required to pay as part of their admission of guilt goes to those most directly impacted, their customers.”

Wilcox is now one of several GOP lawmakers cosponsoring Senate Resolution 1290, which would mandate the government returning the $200 million fine slapped on ComEd to ratepayers either through directs payments or a system established by the Illinois Commerce Commission.

While no charges have been levied against the state’s longest-tenured lawmaker and chairman of the Illinois Democratic Party, Wilcox has blasted Democrats for largely refusing to speak out on the issue. He attributes the silence to the power and financial influence Madigan wields, which recently emboldened him to declare he has no intention of stepping down.

“I think it’s as simple as that,” Wilcox told the Lake County Gazette of the at least $23 million war chest Madigan boasts. "This is the same structure to the system we’ve been talking about for years now. Given all that’s happening, their silence is completely disappointing."