Lake County Gazette

Given the latest scandal he finds himself cast in, Republican state House candidate Jim Walsh thinks he’s finally gotten a grip on who longtime House Speaker Mike Madigan most reminds him of.

“I think we can say that Michael Madigan is the reincarnation of Al Capone,” Walsh told Lake County Gazette. “For years, unions were linked with the mob so that they could maintain their power. Now, they rely on politicians in Springfield, specifically Michael Madigan.”

Running against incumbent state Rep. Sam Yingling (D-Grayslake) in the 62nd District, Walsh adds he doesn’t think anyone should be surprised to see unions rallying around Madigan, the state’s latest tenured lawmaker, the way they have.

Over the past quarter century, government unions have poured more than $10 million into election committees run by Madigan, including most of the at least $555,000 he recently raised in a single-day fundraiser that occurred just weeks after he was implicated in a still ongoing federal corruption probe involving ComEd and a pay-for-play scheme.

Walsh argues the climate in Springfield won't change until true ethics reforms come to town. Walsh insists he’s ready to put his money where his mouth is.

“I really like the idea of term limits for leadership,” he said. “In fact, I would like to see them take it further and ensure it is a lifetime term limit as in one person can only hold the position of speaker of the House or president of the Senate for a maximum of eight years total.”

As part of the process, Walsh is also pushing an enactment that would give the legislative inspector general more power and freedom to address wrongdoing in the Congress.

“However, these reforms still leave the General Assembly only accountable to itself,” he said. “Until we make the General Assembly accountable to local government and local governments accountable to the people we will never see true ethics reform.”