‘His conviction is a step toward accountability’: Local GOP lawmakers react to Madigan verdict

Jurors convicted Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan of 10 counts and acquitted him of seven in his high-corruption trial, but could not reach a decision on six counts, according to the Associated Press.

First elected to the Legislature in 1970, Madigan was the Illinois House speaker from 1983 to 2021, except for two years when Republicans were in control. He decided which legislation would be voted on, oversaw political mapmaking and controlled several campaign funds.

Among multiple schemes, he was accused of using his influence to pass legislation favorable to utility companies that doled out kickbacks, jobs and contracts to his loyalists. An attorney, Madigan also was accused of benefiting from private work that was illegally steered to his law firm, according to the Associated Press.

After the court decision Wednesday, local Republican state lawmakers issued statements in reaction.

State Sen. Sue Rezin, R-Morris, who was elected to the House in November 2010, before being appointed to the Senate just a month later, issued a statement.

“Michael Madigan spent decades building and protecting a corrupt political machine that put personal and political gain ahead of taxpayers,” Rezin said in a news release. “His conviction is a step toward accountability, but the system that allowed his abuse of power still remains in place. Illinois needs real ethics reform to prevent this kind of corruption from happening again.”

State Sen. Li Arellano, R-Dixon, whose district includes Bureau and La Salle counties, said now is the time for both parties to come together an enact meaningful reforms.

“For decades, House Speaker Michael Madigan embodied the corrupt Democratic political machine – one that valued power, patronage and personal enrichment over the public good,“ Arellano said in a news release. ”From governors to state legislators and public officials, Illinois has faced a relentless cycle of scandals and corruption convictions, draining taxpayer dollars, driving up taxes and eroding public trust. This is the result of a system built to preserve power rather than serve the people.

Arellano cited independent oversight, stronger ethics laws and tighter revolving-door restrictions to ensure “that no one can ever accumulate the kind of unchecked power Madigan did.”

State Rep. Bradley Fritts, R-Dixon, said he has supported reforms.

“This guilty verdict has made me more determined than ever to deliver ethics reform to the people of our state,” Fritts said in a news release. “There are dozens of commonsense bills that have been filed by House Republicans, yet the majority party refuses to call any for a vote. In the wake of the guilty verdict of the patriarch of the Illinois Democratic party, it is finally time to pass ethics reform. My message to Speaker Chris Welch is clear: It’s time to call the bills. Illinois deserves better.”

– The Associated Press contributed to this report.