Madigan’s legacy still harms Illinoisans

On Feb. 12, former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan was found guilty on multiple counts of conspiracy, bribery and wire fraud.

His conviction was the last domino to fall in a multi-year, multi-trial operation to bring his time as head of the corrupt Democratic machine to an end.

While I was immensely grateful to see justice had finally been served in the case of Speaker Madigan, his legacy continues to harm Illinoisans.

Corrupt practices that were instituted under his regime continue to be used against the people of Illinois. Tactics such as gerrymandered maps and unfair House rules disenfranchise voters, minimize the voices of elected officials in the minority party and allow the cycle of the abuse of power to continue unchecked.

After Speaker Madigan was removed from his position and new leadership began, we had all hoped for a new day in Illinois governance and an end to a decades-long struggle of unchecked power and corruption.

Despite initial bipartisan calls for ethics reform legislation, not a single substantial ethics bill has been called to the floor. This means that many of the methods utilized by Speaker Madigan to consolidate his grip on our legislature continue to be permitted.

Numerous House Republicans have filed substantial ethics reform bills to strengthen regulation around campaign finance, lobbying, fair legislative maps and more. I am a proud co-sponsor of many of these bills.

House Bills 1385 and 2413 will strengthen regulations around lobbying to require a legislator or constitutional officer to wait at least three years before becoming a lobbyist. House Bill 1554 will prevent politicians from using campaign funds for their personal criminal defense fees.

These are common-sense bills that should be receiving bipartisan support. Unfortunately, similar bills have been filed for the past several years but never received a vote on the House floor.

I will remain steadfast in my pursuit of ethics reform in the Illinois General Assembly because the people of Illinois deserve a government that works for them. It’s long past due that we uphold that responsibility. We must govern responsibly and rebuild the trust damaged by the actions of the Madigan era.

Jackie Haas, R-Bourbonnais, is the state representative for the 79th House District, which includes parts of Kankakee, Will and Grundy counties. Her district office is located at 370 E. Court St. in Kankakee and may be reached by calling 815-523-7779.