Rockford Sun

Republican state House candidate Kathie Hansen sees only one way the change she is looking to bring to Springfield can happen.

“Mike Madigan has to go,” Hansen told the Rockford Sun. “Every member of the General Assembly needs to call for his resignation and the people of his district need to stop voting for him. Illinois has suffered long enough.”

After nearly four decades of being in control in Springfield, Madigan now finds himself at the center of an unfolding federal corruption probe involving ComEd. Federal prosecutors contend 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.

To date, no charges have been filed against the state’s longest-serving lawmaker, but prosecutors have not been shy in asserting that the utility giant sought to “influence and reward” Madigan by providing financial benefits to those directly tied to him.

“Democrats need to step up and do the right thing by the people they represent,” Hansen added. “I see where Gov. (J.B.) Pritzker was qualifying everything he had to say with ‘If, if, if.’ To me, that’s just a lot of fluffing your feathers. He needs to come out and say what needs to be said.”

In the end, Hansen said she doesn’t expect to see Madigan just walk away, even if the allegations lodged against him continue to mount.

“I don’t think he’s just going to leave, which is why it’s so important that others take a stand,” she said. “Once he’s out, I think a lot more of the corruption will be revealed because he really keeps it quelled.”