Kendall County Times

 Veteran Illinois state Sen. Jim Oberweis (R-Sugar Grove) thinks he knows why Springfield looks and operates as it does.

“The culture of corruption is alive and well in Illinois,” Oberweis told the DuPage Policy Journal soon after a WBEZ report detailed that since taking office less than two years ago, Democrat Gov. J.B. Pritzker has made at least 35 hires from a so-called “clout list” compiled by longtime House Speaker Mike Madigan (D-Chicago).

“It is not at all surprising that both a secret Madigan clout list exists and that Gov. Pritzker is adding people from that list to his administration after he vowed to be independent of Speaker Madigan,” Oberweis added.

Now running against incumbent U.S. Rep. Lauren Underwood (D-Naperville) in the 14th Congressional District, Oberweis said all the shadiness speaks to the level of change that’s needed in Springfield.

“We need to root out corruption in Illinois once and for all,” he said. “We need leaders in state government who will stand up to Madigan and fight back against the culture of corruption that has controlled our state for decades. The culture of corruption in Illinois is a big reason why we lead the Midwest in outmigration. People are tired of a system of government that takes care of the politically connected insiders while ignoring the structural problems that are taking us on a road to insolvency.”

Oberweis said he’s witnessed up close and personally just how many Democrat lawmakers have lost their way.

“If the Democrat majority in the House and the Senate and our Democrat governor put as much energy into enacting policies that will create jobs and opportunities for everyone as they do in making sure the people on their clout lists are taken care of, our state would not be on the brink of bankruptcy desperately hoping for a bailout from Uncle Sam,” he said.