East Central Reporter

No matter what happens in the ongoing federal corruption probe that House Speaker Mike Madigan now finds himself at the center of, state Rep. Chris Miller (R-Robinson) argues he forever holds one dubious distinction.

“He’s caused more damage to this state than any other person in history,” Miller told the East Central Reporter. “Springfield is a total mess and I’ve long told people more than one-party rule what we have here is one man rule with Mike Madigan calling all the shots.”

With Madigan now at the center of an unfolding federal corruption probe involving ComEd and a pay-for-play scheme in which payments and perks where allegedly steered to the state’s longest-serving lawmaker in exchange for his support of certain legislation, voters have now taken to protesting outside of Madigan’s home in hopes that he walks away.

Protesters have included members from several advocacy groups, including the Sunrise Movement's Chicago chapter, which chided Madigan with chants of "no dirty energy" and banners that said: "No dirty energy, no dirty money."

The demonstrations come as Madigan is also under investigation by a special bipartisan state House committee recently convened to delve into his recent conduct to determine if any disciplinary actions are warranted on the part of lawmakers.

“People have had enough and they desperately want something else,” he said. “It’s been almost 50 years with Madigan. He’s the poster child for why we need term limits in Springfield. You’ve got people protesting him that haven’t been on Earth for as long as he’s been running this state into the ground.”

Miller said it stands to reason that voters would be to the point of wanting to take things into their own hands.

“I think the frustration a lot of people are expressing has to do with their frustration over all the times they’ve seen Madigan just walk away from situations like this,” he said. “People are expressing a lack of confidence in something finally being done. We have a judicial system, but the history has been if you have enough money things can sometimes get crazy. People are anxious are about seeing justice all the way through.”