Kendall County Times

Kendall County Republican Party Chairman James Marter fears all the hard work in putting together a special Illinois House committee to investigate some of the more suspect behavior tied to longtime House Speaker Mike Madigan may be in vain.

“The biggest problem is that it’s a bipartisan commission and we all know there aren’t any Democrats out there that are going to take a stand like that against Madigan,” Marter told the Kendall County Times. “He still controls the purse strings and as long as that’s the case, I really don’t see any of them standing up to him.”

In a year in which four Springfield Democrats have been indicted on corruption related charges, the committee was formed at the insistence of House Minority Leader Jim Durkin after Madigan was implicated in an ongoing federal probe involving utility giant ComEd and a pay-for-play scheme.

The six-member bipartisan committee is made up of three GOP lawmakers (state Reps. Tom Demmer of Dixon, Deanne Mazzochi of Elmhurst and Grant Wehrli of Naperville) and three Democrats (state Reps. Emanuel “Chris” Welch of Hillside, Elizabeth Hernandez of Cicero and Natalie Manley of Joliet). A majority vote is needed for the probe to proceed to the next stage – a new committee empowered to determine potential sanctions that would then be voted on by the entire House. A two-thirds majority would be required for any discipline to be taken against Madigan, which could include expulsion.

“The only way Mike Madigan will ever be held in line and accountable in Springfield is if we elect more Republican members,” Marter added. “Anything short of that and Madigan will continue to have his way. Just look at what’s happening now. The (Assembly) isn’t even meeting because Mike Madigan doesn’t want to because he may have to answer questions. With him, everything is about politics.”