East Central Reporter

State Rep. Chris Miller (R-Oakland) can feel himself having flashbacks as the never-ending controversy swirling around House Speaker Mike Madigan plays out once again in Springfield.

“I’ve seen this movie before and sadly the bad guy has never gotten what I think he deserves,” Miller told the East Central Reporter. “I’d have to see Democrats actually standing up to Madigan and going against him to actually believe it.”

Even with as many as 18 Democratic lawmakers now vowing to oppose Madigan’s reelection efforts, Miller said he still can’t be sure what it all means.

“If Mike Madigan is on the ballot, I will be the first one to have a look of shock on my face if they actually follow through with what they say and don’t vote for him.”

The state’s longest-tenured lawmaker, Madigan now finds himself at the center of an unfolding federal corruption probe involving ComEd and a pay-for-play scheme where all the perks were allegedly steered to him in exchange for favorable legislation.

More recently, four Madigan associates were indicted in connection with the scheme, including longtime associate and lobbyist Michael McClain, who counts bribery among the charges he faces.

“Time will tell if this leads to the kind of reform movement we truly need in Springfield,” Madigan added. “If it truly does lead to that, I will be the biggest cheerleader there is.”

Still, even with Madigan being shown the door, Miller said he doesn’t expect all Springfield’s problems to magically disappear overnight.

“I tell people we have to be careful what we wish for because in some ways Madigan is a lot more conservative than some of the people behind following him,” he said. “It’s just like so many people thought and argued things couldn’t get any worse than when Bruce Rauner was in power as governor and now look at where we are.”