East Central Reporter

State Rep. Chris Miller (R-Oakland) views federal agents all but naming House Speaker Mike Madigan as a person of interest in an ongoing federal corruption probe as the easy part.

“For any of this to bring about the kind of ethical reform that’s needed, I think the feds, FBI and the judiciary at the federal level are going to have to be ones to push forward,” he told the East Central Reporter. “Right now, corruption wins the day each and every day in Springfield and for the reform process to take place it’s going to have to come from federal authorities and the federal court system.”

Madigan, who easily reigns as the longest-tenured lawmaker in the state, now finds himself at the center of a still-evolving probe into ComEd, in which prosecutors are on record in asserting that the company engaged in a “years-long bribery scheme” involving jobs, contracts and payments that were steered to him in his role as house speaker and chairman of the Illinois Democratic Party.

While stopping short of formally levying any charges, prosecutors contend Commonwealth Edison attempted to “influence and reward” Madigan by providing financial benefits to those directly tied to him.

“The path is long and wide of people that have been participating in this one way or another,” Miller added. “With Madigan, it’s one of those things where this just comes as verification opposed to any breaking news.”

In publicly announcing the case against ComEd public, U.S. Attorney John Lausch noted the investigation is ongoing. The Chicago Tribune reports federal investigators have moved to subpoena Madigan for information, including “possible job recommendations.”

In a statement, a spokesperson for Madigan said he plans to cooperate with the probe, adding “The speaker has never helped someone find a job with the expectation that the person would not be asked to perform work by their employer, nor did he ever expect to provide anything to a prospective employer if it should choose to hire a person he recommended.”