Chambana Sun

Veteran Illinois state Rep. Dan Caulkins (R-Decatur) shudders to think of all the damage he’s convinced House Speaker Mike Madigan has caused to the state over his nearly four decades of almost absolute rule.

“People are rejoicing that maybe it may be about to come to an end,” Caulkins said of the longtime leader now being at the center of an ongoing federal corruption probe. “I guess the investigation does put a spotlight on all the lack of ethics and the corruption, but even that can’t erase all the damage.”

Madigan, who easily reigns as the longest-tenured lawmaker in the state, now finds himself at the center of a still-evolving probe into ComEd, in which prosecutors are on record in asserting that 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.

While stopping short of formally levying any charges, prosecutors contend Commonwealth Edison attempted to “influence and reward” Madigan by providing financial benefits to those directly tied to him.

“After almost 50 years, it’s a history lesson about what kind of damage can be done when you have one party and one man rule in any government for so long,” Caulkins added. “When there are no checks and balances to power, it can be very damaging, very corrupting.”

Caulkins says what happens next is largely up to Democrats.

“Republicans in this state have known forever that he needs to go,” he said. “Then-Gov. Bruce Rauner ran a campaign trying to educate people about what his power has done to Illinois.”

In publicly announcing the case against ComEd public, U.S. Attorney John Lausch noted the investigation is ongoing. The Chicago Tribune reports federal investigators have moved to subpoena Madigan for information, including “possible job recommendations.”

In a statement, a spokesperson for Madigan said he plans to cooperate with the probe, adding “The speaker has never helped someone find a job with the expectation that the person would not be asked to perform work by their employer, nor did he ever expect to provide anything to a prospective employer if it should choose to hire a person he recommended.”