East Central Reporter

Veteran state Rep. Blaine Wilhour (R-Beecher City) is hoping the walls may finally be closing in on House Speaker Mike Madigan.   

“For the good of Illinois, Speaker Madigan needs to go right away and we need to be back in Springfield for session to try to move this state forward," he said. 

With the state teetering on the brink of financial ruin and corruption seemingly running rampant, Wilhour argues no simple changes will do.

“We need to enact the toughest and most transparent anti-corruption measures in the country,” he said. “It’s the only way to put this state back on track after Madigan.”

The state’s longest-tenured lawmaker, Madigan now finds himself at the center of an ongoing 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 individuals with ties to Madigan were indicted as part of the probe, including longtime associate and lobbyist Michael McClain, who now faces bribery charges.

At the same time, a Special House Committee panel has been convened to look into some of Madigan’s most suspect behavior, with penalties up to expulsion on the table.

“It seems like this could be the end, but he says he’s still in the game,” Wilhour told the South Central Reporter. “He’s still got a lot of power and controls all the money, so it’s really hard to know. It’s a perfect example of why we need transparent, anti-corruption laws in place so no one can ever get this kind of power over everything again.”

As more of the findings from the probe have become public, well over a dozen House Democrats have now emerged to insist they have no intentions of supporting Madigan for another term when the legislature reconvenes for the new General Assembly on Jan. 13.