State Rep. Dan Caulkins | File photo
State Rep. Dan Caulkins | File photo
Republican state Rep. Dan Caulkins (R-Decatur) believes that after nearly a half-century, voters are finally willing to face the truth about House Speaker Mike Madigan.
“People are finally getting the message that the root cause of all their problems in Springfield has been the Chicago Machine and he’s been the leader of it,” Caulkins told the Chambana Sun. “It has created one of the worse economic climates in the country as well as made us one of the most corrupt states and people have finally had enough. They’ve finally figured out if you continue to support corrupt politicians nothing is going to change.”
With Madigan now at the center of an unfolding federal corruption probe involving ComEd and a pay-for-play scheme in which payments and perks where allegedly steered to the state’s longest-serving lawmaker in exchange for his support of certain legislation, voters have now taken to protesting outside of Madigan’s home in hopes that he walks away.
Protesters have included members from several advocacy groups, including the Sunrise Movement's Chicago chapter, which chided Madigan with chants of "no dirty energy" and banners that said: "No dirty energy, no dirty money."
The demonstrations come as Madigan is also under investigation by a special bipartisan state House committee recently convened to delve into his recent conduct to determine if any disciplinary actions are warranted on the part of lawmakers.
“The show’s getting old and I think for a lot of people the most distressing thing is that he’s still receiving huge donations from labor unions and the like,” Caulkins added. “I think that primarily is about people who have benefited from all his corruption not wanting to see it end anytime soon.”
Caulkins said he’s hopeful the special House committee will be able to bear fruit, but at this point he more than welcomes the feds involvement.
“I want to see the legal system continue to work,” he said. “We need to see that happen, see the system work as it is intended to and hopefully that will keep people believing.”
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