Chambana Sun

State Rep. Dan Caulkins (R-Decatur) isn’t waiting any longer for federal authorities to tell him what he insists he’s long been certain of.

“Mike Madigan needs to go as speaker of the House and for Springfield to have any real chance of being a place of ethical government, that needs to happen right now,” Caulkins told the Chambana Sun. “When you’re in that environment, it’s really obvious what’s going on and I’m happy to see the legal system finally looking into it and taking action."

Caulkins is one of a growing number of GOP lawmakers now calling for a vote that would immediately remove the longtime speaker from power. In addition to cosponsoring House Resolution 885, he is also urging Gov. J.B. Pritzker to call a Special Session of the General Assembly to deal with the overriding issue of ethics reform.  

“These are really troubling times here in Illinois,” he said. “We’re not only dealing with the virus but the effects of a very corrupt system in Springfield.”

Through it all, Madigan continues to stand defiant, recently telling the Chicago Sun-Times he has no intentions of stepping down and insisting he feels he still has the support of most House Democrats.

“I’m disappointed that he’s getting the support that he is, but these are all people that have benefited from him politically and feel indebted to him in some way,” Caulkins sad. “The Democrat majority should feel an obligation to do the right thing and remove him but many of its members are still choosing to look the other way. This is not the time to be silent or stand on the sidelines. The fact that so many of them are still shying away from considering real ethics reform says a lot about how they operate and what they view to be most important.”