East Central Reporter

Illinois state Rep. Chris Miller (R-Oakland) sees all the charges filed in the state’s ongoing federal crackdown of political corruption as an indictment against one man.

“This all leads back to [House Speaker] Mike Madigan,” Miller told the East Central Reporter. “Eventually everything rises and falls to leadership, back to the guy at the top.”

Earlier this month, federal agents swooped in to conduct raids on the home and office of state Sen. Martin Sandoval (D-Chicago), the latest local politician with ties to Madigan to come under criminal scrutiny as part of the ongoing corruption probe.

Illinois state Sen. Martin Sandoval (D-Chicago) | https://senatormartinsandoval.com

According to the Chicago Tribune, the focus on Sandoval centers on allegations that he steered business to at least one company in exchange for kickbacks. Sandoval joins Kevin Quinn, a onetime political and government operative of Madigan's and the brother of Chicago Ald. Martin Quinn, as a state lawmaker or political operative with ties to the House Speaker to recently come under criminal investigation.

“There’s something called due process and innocent until proven guilty,” Miller said. “But on the flip side, I’ve never known there to be a raid on the State Capitol building to confiscate all of the items that got taken out of his office. They normally don’t go do something like this unless it’s pretty blatant.”

Miller said he views all the recent actions taken by federal authorities in the name of cleaning up Illinois politics to be a move in the right direction.

“I think it's pretty encouraging that they’re actually beginning to deal with all the corruption that’s been going on for decades, especially under the Madigan regime,” Miller said. “Corruption in the state of Illinois has to end; the good ol' boy politics have to end, and the Chicago Machine has to end for us to begin to be concerned about the taxpayer.”