SPRINGFIELD – State Representative Amy Grant, R-Wheaton, issued the following statement after the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois announced an indictment of former House Speaker Michael J. Madigan on federal racketeering charges:
“The indictment of Speaker Madigan reminds us how engrained the culture of corruption is in our state government and how much work remains to be done in order to regain the public’s trust. Ethics reform needs to be the top priority of the General Assembly. We have seen the super majority consistently avoid ethics reform proposals – the indictment of Speaker Madigan needs to be the push that gets them to act.”
Representative Grant serves the 42nd District.
Rep. Ugaste Reacts to Former Speaker Madigan Indictment
SPRINGFIELD – In response to former Illinois Speaker of the House Mike Madigan’s 22-count indictment on federal racketeering charges, State Representative Dan Ugaste (R-Geneva) released the following response:
“Back in 2020, I called the federal investigation of Mike Madigan a disgrace to our chamber. Today, he is finally being held to account for years of corruption under his leadership that have hurt our state and Illinoisans. This shows the people of our state that no person in power in Illinois can abuse that power without consequence.
“Now, we in the General Assembly need to work to restore trust in government with the people of our State. We need to end the culture of corruption in Illinois once and for all.”
Governor Pritzker’s Statement on the Michael Madigan’s Indictment
An indictment of this magnitude is a condemnation of a system infected with promises of pay-to-play, and the era of corruption and self-dealing among Illinois politicians must end. The conduct alleged in this indictment is deplorable and a stark violation of the public’s trust. Michael Madigan must be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law.
Ultimately, every person in elected office is responsible for doing the right thing – and not lining their own pockets. I am fully committed to eradicate the scourge of corruption from our political system, and today’s indictment is an important step in cleaning up Illinois. I have faith that our justice system will help restore the public’s trust in government.
When I ran for office, I made clear that I would be beholden to no one, and that I would serve the best interests of the people of Illinois. I have upheld that vow. For the past three years, my administration has made clear that such abuses will not be tolerated, and we’ve tightened our ethics laws. I will continue to work with the General Assembly to restore the public’s trust.
Rezin reacts to indictment of Michael Madigan
"Democrats knew full well the power plays Mike Madigan used to stay in office for decades, and yet they didn’t act until federal authorities stepped in.
Today, Madigan is being held accountable. Madigan may be gone as America’s most powerful House Speaker, but the culture of corruption that he created and that enabled him to stay in office for so long remains.
The House parliamentary rules he established to secure his iron grip on power are the same rules we operate under today. Illinois has been shortchanged on responsible, bipartisan government for decades as a result. And the damage done to our state will take decades to repair, if ever.
Illinois residents must stand up and say ‘enough is enough.' We need real ethics and other major policy reforms, and we need leadership term limits so that no one individual can ever amass so much power over our state’s laws and policies again."
Springfield, IL – Senate Republican Deputy Leader Sue Rezin (R-Morris) issued the following statement after the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced the indictment of former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan on public corruption charges:
“For far too long, Illinois has been darkened by the shadow of former Speaker Madigan’s alleged corruption. Rumors of his unethical behavior have been all too common throughout his reign as speaker. However, those rumors had never been substantiated enough for criminal charges, until today.
“With his indictment, I hope that my Democrat colleagues choose to take a tougher stance on public corruption and work with us to create stronger ethics reforms, so the people of Illinois don’t have to rely on the federal government to hold Illinois officials accountable for their corruption.”
Rep. Batinick Responds to Madigan Indictment
SPRINGFIELD – In response to the announcement of the indictment of former House Speaker Mike Madigan on federal racketeering charges, State Representative Mark Batinick (R-Plainfield) issued the following response:
“Today, Mike Madigan is finally being held accountable for the years of corruption that created a pervasive and notorious culture of corruption in Springfield. As the first sitting state representative to call for his resignation in December 2019, this day is encouraging that we will not tolerate this toxic culture of backroom deals and bribery anymore in Illinois.”
