Chambana Sun

Veteran state Rep. Dan Caulkins (R-Decatur) thinks House Speaker Mike Madigan’s way of governing should be an affront to voters everywhere.

“Every day, the speaker shows us with his actions that he’s of the mind when you make the rules you can make the rules that exempt you from the rules,” Caulkins told the Chambana Sun.

Amid the backdrop of an ongoing ComEd federal corruption probe, Madigan recently let it be known he has no intention of answering questions about his suspected involvement before the bipartisan panel. The state’s longest-tenured lawmaker made his feelings clear in a three-page letter he sent to committee members in which he also forcefully defended his widely known practice of patronage hiring as not “ethically improper.”

Caulkins has seen and heard it it all before.

“The kind of conduct alleged with ComEd is well-known and documented when it comes to the speaker,” he said. “Right now, even Gov. (J.B.) Pritzker is agreeing that he needs to go before the committee and give an accounting. For those that point out we’ve already got a federal investigation playing out, well, the committee isn’t a court or about a lawsuit. This is an ethics situation and I firmly believes he owes answers to the people.”

With Madigan having lorded over Springfield for as long as he has, Caulkins said it’s to be expected Democrats would fall in line with him the way they always seem to.

“Everything in Springfield is controlled by him,” he said. “I think what we’re seeing from Democrats is a fear of retribution that comes from going against him. They know if you get too insubordinate, none of your bills will ever get heard on the floor. He doesn’t say that, but everyone knows that’s what happens.”