Editor’s note: Speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives Michael Madigan received subpoenas on Friday, July 17, 2020, for documents. “Federal prosecutors said electric utility ComEd has agreed to pay $200 million, to resolve a Federal criminal investigation into a long-running bribery scheme that implicates Madigan. They say the company has admitted that from 2011 to 2019 it arranged for jobs and vendor subcontracts ‘for various associates of a high-level, elected official for the State of Illinois.’ A deferred prosecution agreement for ComEd…states that [official] is the Illinois House speaker…but Madigan… is not mentioned by name.”
State Representative Tony McCombie said it is “past time for corruption to end in Illinois.” Her comment was in the wake of Democrat Speaker of the House Michael Madigan being named in “position-only” as Public Official A, in a deferred prosecution agreement for corporate bribery on Friday, July 17.
“This latest revelation takes absolutely no one in Illinois by surprise. Unfortunately, it took too long for the end to begin, because of the lack of transparency and failure of our weak ethics laws. Decades of corruption is an embarrassment Illinoisans should not have to bear,” said Representative McCombie.
In the wake of ongoing Federal investigations surrounding State and municipal governments, ultimately there were resignations of several Legislators. [In Fall 2019], Rep. McCombie led the charge to create an Ethics Reform Task Force to assess current laws; study best practices; propose legislation to ensure Illinois has among the most stringent ethics laws in the Nation.
She filed House Joint Resolution 87, to create the State Ethics Task Force, in the lead up to the 2019 Fall Veto Session. State Representative Maurice West was Chief Co-Sponsor. The resolution garnered bipartisan support from throughout the State.
Below, Rep. Tony McCombie speaks at an Ethics Reform Press Conference in the Blue Room at the State Capitol in Springfield on October 28, 2019. Pictured from left-to-right are Rep. Margo McDermed, Rep. Mark Batinick, Rep. Maurice West, Rep. Grant Wehrli, Sen. Sue Rezin, and Rep. Terri Bryant.
