Dupage Policy Journal

Veteran Illinois state Rep. Amy Grant (R-Wheaton) argues that House Speaker Mike Madigan’s (D-Chicago) refusal to appear before a Special House Investigating Committee he helped form to answer questions about some of his own actions involving ComEd and a pay-for-play scheme is emblematic of what’s gone wrong with Springfield.

“The Special Investigating Committee was formed using Madigan’s own House Rules, but his refusal to come forward and testify suggests his rules apply to everyone but himself,” Grant told the DuPage Policy Journal. “Illinoisans deserve better. They deserve a transparent, honest government that they can trust.”

As the state’s longest-tenured lawmaker, Madigan now also finds himself at the center of an ongoing federal corruption probe looking into the matter.

Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan (D-Chicago) | File photo

In a three-page letter he recently fired off to committee members, he let it be known that he has no intention of appearing before the panel, castigating its work as nothing more than a “publicity stunt.”

Serving as the face of the 42nd District for the last two-years, Grant begs to differ.

“There are a lot of people in Illinois who deserve answers about Speaker Madigan’s involvement with the ComEd scandal,” she said. “Republicans want answers, Democrats who have asked for his resignation want answers, and even Gov. (J.B.) Pritzker has said the Speaker has a lot of explaining to do.”  

Earlier this summer, Grant signed on as a co-sponsor to House Resolution 885, which would strip Madigan of all his power as House Speaker.

“Serving as Speaker is a privilege and Madigan has abused that privilege time and time again,” she said. “This brand of dirty politics has no place in Springfield, and least of all in the Office of the Speaker.”

H.R. 885 argued that such action was needed because most lawmakers in Springfield had lost all confidence in Madigan and up until this point he has insisted he has no plans to step down.