Prairie State Wire

Either way you look at it, Republican state House candidate Peter Breen thinks Gov. J.B. Pritzker is part of the problem in Springfield.

“Basically, I think they’re two types of Democrats: the ones that are actually corrupt and the ones that enable the corruption,” Breen told the Prairie State Wire. “Wherever the governor falls, he’s part of the problem as is every Democrat in Springfield."

Now running against incumbent state Rep. Terra Costa-Howard (D-Glen Ellyn) in the 48th District, Breen said a new WBEZ report that finds during his first 18 months in office the governor has made at least 35 hires from a so-called “clout list” comprised by longtime House Speaker Mike Madigan says a lot about what side of aisle Pritzker falls on.

“In Illinois government, you get what you tolerate and too many state Democrats tolerate corruption and mismanagement as just part of the system,” he said. “I won’t say every Democratic lawmaker is corrupt, but those who enable the corruption by taking money from that corrupt machine in exchange for working to keep the violators in power to the detriment of the people of Illinois are also doing voters a disservice.”

Breen, a Lombard resident, said it all equates to a massive corruption tax that all the taxpayers of Illinois are left to cover.

“Pritzker teamed up with Madigan to win the Governor’s Mansion,” he said. “They’ve worked closely, so it’s no surprise that this has happened with the governor’s blessings.”

Going forward, Breen said he sees many challenging days ahead in getting the state back on the right track.

“The great fight in the coming years will be between Illinoisans that believe corruption is now just a part of life and those who believe we can beat back all the malfeasance that has plagued our state and get back to working for the people,” he said.