Lake County Gazette

After the announcement of former Illinois Speaker of the House Michael Madigan’s federal indictment on racketeering and conspiracy charges, Rep. Martin McLaughlin (R-Lake Barrington) said Madigan should have never been given so much authority.

“I think it speaks to all the many years he’s degraded the office,” McLaughlin said. “It’s an example of things being taken to a level that should never be allowed. You can’t have a Democratic political operative also be Speaker of the House.”

A March 2 release from the Illinois DOJ said that “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.”

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.

“The conduct alleged in this indictment is deplorable and a stark violation of the public’s trust,” Gov. J.B.Prizker said in a statement.

Illinois legislators passed an ethics reform bill last year, which Pritzker signed in October. McLaughlin doesn't think the bill goes far enough.

"I think we need to go much further and the fact that we haven’t, rightfully leads the public to question the commitment," McLaughlin said. " It sends the message there’s not a real commitment and the public hopefully will take note of those that are standing in the way."

The Legislative Inspector General at the time, Carol Pope, announced her resignation in response to the bill.

Heart of Illinois ABC reported that in her letter of resignation, Pope called the office of LIG a “paper tiger” and stated that the ethics reform bill did not go far enough, and tied her hands more than they had been before.

“I’m thinking that the legislature knows the limitations of the power of the LIG and that they want it that way,” Pope said to Heart of Illinois ABC. “That’s why I said I am a paper tiger. There are no real teeth to this legislation the way it is now.”

Illinois has a history of corruption in high places. Former Gov. Rod Blagojevich was impeached and convicted of multiple corruption charges. He served nearly eight years in prison. Former Gov. George Ryan was convicted of racketeering and served five years in prison. Former U.S. Rep. Dan Rostenkowski was  convicted of corruption and served 17 months in prison.