East Central Reporter

State Rep. Brad Halbrook (R-Shelbyville) hopes that new House Speaker Rep. Chris Welch (D-Hillside) means it when he hints at being the antithesis to Mike Madigan (D-Chicago).

Welch was appointed on Jan. 13.

“In his acceptance speech after being elected Speaker of the House, Chris Welch promised to set a more civil tone in the House,” Halbrook told the East Central Reporter. “One of the biggest complaints that we as Republicans had with Mike Madigan was his heavy-handed approach. If you had a bill that was important to your constituents, you had to get his blessing to get it moved. We had very little rights as members of the minority party when Madigan was in charge.”

Pressure increased on Madigan to step aside after being allegedly connected to an ongoing federal corruption investigation involving pay-to-play and ComEd, the state’s largest utility company. Federal authorities fined ComEd $200 million. Madigan has denied any involvement and has not been charged. The U.S. Justice Department is leading the investigation.

A special House Committee was also recently convened to look into his alleged role in the scheme, with expulsion from the House being among the penalties he could have faced.

Halbrook wants Welch to represent a change from Madigan in more ways than one.

“I would very much welcome a more respectful and cooperative legislative process,” he said. “For far too long, the views and values of people in the rural parts of Illinois have been ignored at the state level. I sincerely hope that changes.”

Illinois Republican Party Chairman Tim Schneider has reservations about Welch, given his alleged troubles that include facing multiple accusations in court documents of harassing, assaulting and retaliating against women. However, the AP reported that the claims and court filings levied against Welch never resulted in charges in one incident, and the court matters were dismissed.