Lake County Gazette

Illinois Republicans are demanding their Democratic colleagues do more to produce ethics reform legislation, especially after former House Speaker Michael Madigan's indictment.

State Rep. Chris Bos (R-Lake Zurich) said there needs to be an effort to address the corruption in the state.

“Major ethics reforms are needed to end the culture of corruption in Illinois,” he posted on Facebook, linking to a Republican Party survey on ethics legislation.

Madigan was indicted on March 2 on federal racketeering and bribery charges.

“The 22-count indictment accuses Madigan of leading for nearly a decade a criminal enterprise whose purpose was to enhance Madigan’s political power and financial well-being while also generating income for his political allies and associates,” a release from the Department of Justice said. 

Madigan is facing charges of racketeering conspiracy, as well as individual counts of using interstate facilities to carry out bribery, wire fraud, and attempted extortion. The release notes that in addition to his role as Speaker of the House, Madigan has also held the positions of representative of Illinois’s 22nd District, committeeman for Chicago’s 13th Ward, chairman of both the Illinois Democratic Party and the 13th Ward Democratic Organization, and partner at the Chicago law firm of Madigan & Getzendanner.

Madigan pled not guilty on March 9, the Chicago Sun Times reported. Madigan will appear in front of a U.S. district judge for a hearing on April 1.

The last Legislative Inspector General (LIG), Carol Pope, resigned in July, stating her office was “essentially a paper tiger,” according to the Chicago Sun Times. Pope wrote in her resignation letter that when she accepted the position as LIG, she had hoped to be “able to make a difference working from the inside.”

Pope called out lawmakers for failing to pass effective ethics reform legislation and stated, "This last legislative session demonstrated true ethics reform is not a priority.” The office of LIG had been vacant for more than four years when Pope took the job in 2018.