Lake County Gazette

Veteran state Sen. Craig Wilcox (R-McHenry) is urging voters to sign a petition calling for sweeping changes to the way lawmakers in Springfield are allowed to do business.

“In the last year, four Illinois Democrat legislators were indicted on charges ranging from bribery to ghost payrolling and federal tax evasion, while another is currently under investigation for what could be the largest bribery scheme in Illinois government history,” Wilcox said. “Yet, not a single piece of anti-corruption legislation has been signed into law.”

With longtime House Speaker Mike Madigan now under federal probe over his alleged involvement in a pay-for-play scheme involving utility giant ComEd where all the benefits were allegedly steered to him in exchange for support on legislation, Wilcox argues Democrat lawmakers have to be courageous enough to take a stand for what they know is right.

As part of the plan, Wilcox is co-sponsoring 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.

Wilcox argues it all leads back to Madigan and the culture of corruption he has allowed to fester over his roughly four decades of being in power, adding it may take even greater intervention on the part of the federal government to finally show him the door.  

“I don’t think we’ll see him resign, because the way everything has to run through him he isn’t expecting to see any Democrats go against him,” he said. “It really comes down to the way so many of them are beholden to him. Right now, the left is setting the tone. We may need more of that to send a message.”