Lake County Gazette

Former Republican House hopeful Jim Walsh wants Mike Madigan’s ouster as House Speaker to be the first step in Springfield’s reincarnation.

“I hope to see lawmakers continuing the process that finally puts checks in place to get rid of all the corruption,” Walsh told the Lake County Gazette. “From here, the next step has to be putting term limits in place so no leader becomes as powerful as Madigan’s been again. At this point, I’m hoping everyone will be amendable to making sure that never happens again.”

Lawmakers banded during the recent lame-duck session in Springfield to put an end to Madigan’s nearly 40-year run as Speaker, ushering in state Rep. Emmanuel “Chris” Welch (D-Hillside) as his successor, WGN reported.

Rep. Mike Madigan | Stock image

The state’s longest running lawmaker, Madigan now finds himself at the center of a still unfolding federal corruption probe involving ComEd and a pay-for-play scheme where all the perks are alleged to have been steered to him in exchange for favorable legislation. A Special House Committee was convened to look into his role in the matter with expulsion from the House being among the penalties he could have faced. Welch headed the special committee and quickly ended the inquiry, WGN reported.

Walsh, who lost in his bid for the Illinois House of Representatives District 62 in November, said he can’t see how anyone can be surprised that things finally came to this.

“I think you had a combination of people feeling screwed over by Madigan and progressives that wanted him out,” he told the Lake County Gazette. “They all got together to find a candidate that enough of them could come together on.”

In still trying to find out more about Welch, Walsh is busy warning anyone that will listen not to completely count Madigan out of the mix.

“I fear he will still be a power to be reckoned with,” he said. “Think about; he’s still head of the Democratic Party and still carries a lot of influence across the party.”