Rockford Sun

Republican state House candidate Kathie Hansen, who is challenging state Rep. Maurice West Jr. (D-Rockford) in the 67th District, is challenging him to join her in calling for longtime House Speaker Mike Madigan to immediately step down.

“I’m also demanding that he give back all the money that he’s been given by Madigan,” Hansen told the Rockford Sun. “Taking these steps is the right thing to do. My opponent should be angry about accepting tax dollars at the harm of his constituents. When leadership is compromised, the ship can no longer properly function.”

Madigan, who easily reigns as the longest-tenured lawmaker in the state, now finds himself at the center of a still-evolving probe into ComEd, in which prosecutors are on record in asserting that the company engaged in a “years-long bribery scheme” involving jobs, contracts and payments that were steered to him in his role as house speaker and chairman of the Illinois Democratic Party.

While stopping short of formally hitting him with any charges, prosecutors contend Commonwealth Edison attempted to “influence and reward” Madigan by providing financial benefits to those directly tied to him.

Even as the suspicion around him seems to mount, Hansen said she doesn’t expect Madigan to change much about his approach.

“I don’t see him resigning,” she said. “A person like that almost finds it impossible to give up that kind of power. As for my opponent, I think the people of the district deserve to see if he has enough character to at least ask him to.”

In publicly announcing the case against ComEd public, U.S. Attorney John Lausch noted the investigation is ongoing. The Chicago Tribune reports federal investigators have moved to subpoena Madigan for information, including “possible job recommendations.”

In a statement, a spokesperson for Madigan said he plans to cooperate with the probe, adding “The speaker has never helped someone find a job with the expectation that the person would not be asked to perform work by their employer, nor did he ever expect to provide anything to a prospective employer if it should choose to hire a person he recommended.”