Lake County Gazette

Veteran state Sen. Craig Wilcox (R-McHenry) isn’t quite sure what to make of Mike Madigan finally being ousted as House speaker after nearly four decades.

“I’m not sure you can really say he’s been shown the door,” Wilcox told the Lake County Gazette. “Like a lot of people, I’m looking to see if he’ll still be controlling things from behind the scenes. Chris Welch has made it a point to say some of the right things but he’s definitely got some cynics he’s got to win over.”

Over the recent lame-duck session, lawmakers in Springfield moved to finally put an end to Madigan’s nearly 40-year run as speaker by installing Welch (D-Hillside) as his successor

The state’s longest-tenured lawmaker, Madigan continues to be dogged by an ongoing federal corruption probe involving ComEd and a pay-for-play scheme where all the perks are purported to have been steered to him in exchange for favorable legislation. A special House committee was also recently convened to look into his role in the matter with expulsion being among the potential penalties.

With Madigan still in position as a state representative and chairman of the Illinois Democratic Party, Wilcox is hoping Springfield’s break from his control is as complete as it can be.

“I’m hoping that things can be better, but it’s all going to take some time,” he said. “You hope new Speaker Welch means what he says when he says he wants Republicans and Democrats to be able to work better together for the good of everyone in Illinois.”

Wilcox says only time will tell.

“The next few months will show what his priorities are,” he said. “With Madigan still around and still a senior member of the caucus, you just never really know what his influence will be.”