Kendall County Times

Republican House candidate for the 97th District Thomas McCullagh thinks the federal indictment of former House Speaker Mike Madigan needs to be just the start of ethics reform in Springfield.

"This is well past due, and I know there are a lot of others out there shaking in their boots because a lot of them learned from him," said McCullagh.

Madigan, 79, was indicted on charges of racketeering and conspiracy by federal prosecutors. According to a release from the Department of Justice, "The 22-count indictment accuses Madigan of leading for nearly a decade a criminal enterprise whose purpose was to enhance Madigan's political power and financial well-being while also generating income for his political allies and associates."

Legislators passed an ethics reform bill last year, which Gov. Pritzker signed in October. 

McCullagh isn't sure it has enough teeth. 

"There are always loopholes," McCullagh said. "If people want to find a way to do unethical things they will, that's why it's so important that we send the right people to Springfield. I think we’re only one step down the rung in this."

The Legislative Inspector General at the time, Carol Pope, announced her resignation in response to the bill, saying it didn't give her office enough tools to do its job.

McCullagh agrees.

"The office needs a lot more power to do what needs to be done," he said. "We’re not close to that point. There's not enough willpower to change because half of the people in Springfield are doing some of the same things."

According to NPR, Pope said that she had initially made some suggestions on how the office could improve but the General Assembly had ignored them. “The public has had it up to their eyebrows with public corruption, and when I came to this job, I really felt like by appointing somebody with my background, if I had the ability to do the job in the right way, it would…improve the public’s view of the legislature,” Pope said. “But I just don’t feel like I’ve been able to do that at all. It’s just time to move along.”

Illinois has a history of corruption in high places. Former Gov. Rod Blagojevich was impeached and convicted of multiple corruption charges. He served nearly eight years in prison. Former Gov. George Ryan was convicted of racketeering and served five years in prison. Former U.S. Rep. Dan Rostenkowski was  convicted of corruption and served 17 months in prison.

The 97th District includes Plainfield and Shorewood.