Chambana Sun

State Rep. Dan Caulkins finds himself in rare agreement with Gov. J.B. Pritzker.

Pritzker said last Friday he was following the events closely as Commonwealth Edison agreed to a $200 million fine for bribery and agreed to obey laws after admitting to working “to influence and reward" Public Official A beginning around 2011 and continuing through 2019.

“Public Official A” was revealed to be Illinois Speaker of the House Mike Madigan. ComEd tried to obtain favorable legislation by influencing Madigan, it stated in a court filing.

Rep. Mike Madigan | File Photo

"The company admitted that it arranged for jobs and vendor subcontracts for Public Official A’s political allies and workers even in instances where those people performed little or no work that they were purportedly hired by ComEd to perform," the U.S. Attorney's Office said in a statement.

"In addition to the jobs and contracts, ComEd further admitted that it undertook other efforts to influence and reward Public Official A, including by appointing an individual to ComEd’s Board of Directors at the request of Public Official A; retaining a particular law firm at the request of Public Official A; and accepting into the company’s internship program a certain amount of students who resided in the Chicago ward where Public Official A was associated,” the statement said.

Because of that, the General Assembly "considered bills and passed legislation that had a substantial impact on ComEd’s operations and profitability, including legislation that affected the regulatory process used to determine the electricity rates ComEd charged its customers."

Pritzker, a Democrat, was elected governor in 2018. He has worked closely with Madigan, who in addition to being speaker, is the chairman of the Illinois Democratic Party.

“I have read several of the articles today. And I am deeply troubled and frankly, I’m furious with what is being reported,” Pritzker said. “The speaker has a lot he needs to answer for to authorities, to investigators and most importantly to the people of Illinois.

“These allegations strike at the core of what public service means. It’s a high calling, public service. It’s a high calling, one in which we serve with a sacred trust to put the people first.

“If these allegations of wrongdoing by the speaker are true, there is no question that he will have betrayed the public trust and he must resign, therefore. In the meantime, I urge the speaker to fully cooperate with the investigation and answer all questions as quickly as possible.”

Caulkins is a retired Army major and Republican elected to represent the 101st District in the the Illinois House of Representatives in 2018. The Decatur resident has been a frequent critic of the governor for his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.

But on this matter, they see eye-to-eye.

“I agree with Governor Pritzker. Speaker Madigan has a lot of questions that need to be answered,” Caulkins told Chambana Sun. “The information released by U.S. Attorney (John R.) Laush is very disturbing. We all have our opinion of Mr. Madigan but in the end everyone should be afforded due process. To your question — if he is indicted, he must resign.”

He said he trusted the people in charge of the investigation.

“I believe the U.S. Attorney, FBI and IRS are more than capable of conducting the investigation,” Caulkins said. “If it becomes obvious that wrongdoing occurred then we may need to file an ethics complaint in the House.”

While the news broke like a bombshell in Illinois, Caulkins said he was hardly stunned.

“Unfortunately, I’m not surprised by this and I doubt many of my fellow citizens are either,” he said. “And that is a sad commentary on politics in Illinois.”