Lake County Gazette

Republican state House candidate Dan Yost is stumped at the way his 61st District opponent Joyce Mason proudly continues to be one of a dwindling breed.

“My opponent continues to accept campaign cash from (House Speaker Mike) Madigan despite decades of financial mismanagement, corruption and even the mishandling of allegations of sexual harassment,” Yost said. “Madigan continues to block ethics reforms and remains in charge of your family’s future in Illinois. I’m running to usher in an era of transparency and restoration of trust in Springfield.”

In a year in which four Springfield Democrats have been indicted on corruption related charges, the committee was formed at the insistence of House Minority Leader Jim Durkin after Madigan was implicated in an ongoing federal probe involving utility giant ComEd and a pay-for-play scheme.

The six-member bipartisan committee is made up of three GOP lawmakers (state Reps. Tom Demmer of Dixon, Deanne Mazzochi of Elmhurst and Grant Wehrli of Naperville) and three Democrats (state Reps. Emanuel “Chris” Welch of Hillside, Elizabeth Hernandez of Cicero and Natalie Manley of Joliet). A majority vote is needed for the probe to proceed to the next stage – a new committee empowered to determine potential sanctions that would then be voted on by the entire House. A two-thirds majority would be required for any discipline to be taken against Madigan, which could include expulsion.

Yost has long called for Madigan to go and for lawmakers like Mason to return all of his campaign contributions.

“I’m calling for an end to the culture of corruption in Illinois and for Michael Madigan to resign,” he added. “I would hope that Rep. Mason, who benefited from over $740,000 in contributions from Speaker Madigan, will not only join me in calling for his resignation but will return the contributions that she has received from him.”