Dupage Policy Journal

Republican state House candidate Laura Hois is left speechless by what she’s sadly come to expect to see and hear coming from Springfield.

“It’s hard to keep up with all the corruption going on in Illinois,” Hois said soon after veteran state Sen. Terry Link (D-Indian Creek) was indicted on federal tax evasion charges. “How can we trust the current majority leaders with more power?”

After serving more than two decades as the face of the 30th District, Link’s legal woes now make him the fourth Democratic lawmaker who’s strongly come out in support of Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s progressive tax proposal to now face criminal charges.

Link joins former state Rep. Luis Arroyo, who faces up to 10 years in prison, and state Sen. Tom Cullerton, who has been hit with a 41-count indictment on embezzlement charges. One-time state Sen. Martin Sandoval has already pleaded guilty to taking $250,000 in bribes from SafeSpeed, a red-light camera vendor.

And then there is longtime House Speaker Mike Madigan, who now finds himself implicated in an ongoing federal corruption probe involving ComEd in which it’s alleged bribes were steered to several of his close associates as part of a pay-to-play scheme aimed at currying favor with him.

Running against incumbent state Rep. Anne Stava-Murray (D-Naperville) in the 81st District, Hois is convinced none of it will change as long as Madigan, the longest-tenured lawmaker in state history, is left at the controls.

“Corruption has flourished under Madigan’s 38-year reign,” she added. “Elected officials are supposed to work for the people, not for the failed leader who works against Illinoisans. This will not change unless Madigan is forced to resign.”