Dupage Policy Journal

After the eight-year Commonwealth Edison bribery scheme that showed millions in bribery for legislative benefits and sharp increases to Illinois consumers' electric rates was uncovered, Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan, the longest-standing House Speaker in American history, stepped down. 

In an April 15 conversation with Prairie State Humanists about fighting corruption in government, Donna Limper from Represent Us noted that the Illinois legislature has a history of dishonesty and that American trust of the government has reached historic lows.

Represent Us is a multipartisan grassroots organization that opposes government corruption. 

"An aggressive FBI probe uncovered an eight-year ComEd bribery scheme," Limper said. "ComEd admitted to providing jobs, contracts and payoffs to Madigan’s associates. In exchange, ComEd received $150 million in legislative benefits, including sharp increases in our electric rates." 

Former Rep. Luis Arroyo was charged with bribing a senator on behalf of a lobbying client. Sen. Tom Cullerton was indicted for embezzlement. He is accused of holding a $250,000 ghost payroll job with the Teamsters. Former Sen. Martin Sandoval pled guilty to taking bribes and filing a false tax return.

In January, Common Clause Illinois released a letter calling on state lawmakers to deep-dive into the state's ethics legislation after an 87-page ethics bill tossed out in the final hours of a lame duck session showed deep flaws, spotty addressing of issues and no true consideration of ethics concerns. 

"We understand this is how a lot of legislation proceeds in Springfield," the letter read, "but the public was promised something different this time. However well-intentioned, measures presented through this rushed process do little to restore trust in government, which is the impetus for ethics reform in the first place.