Prairie State Wire

Republican state House candidate Peter Breen insists he’s been counting down the days for this moment.

“I called for Mike Madigan to step down as house speaker last year and proudly signed the ‘No Madigan Pledge’ that vowed not to reelect him in the position,” Breen told the Prairie State Wire. “I’ve been saying to give this state a chance of turning things around Madigan has to go.”

Running against incumbent state Rep. Terra Costa-Howard (D-Glen Ellyn) in the 48th District, Breen is hoping the speaker now being caught in the crosshairs of an ongoing federal corruption probe is just the start.

Madigan, who easily reigns as the longest-tenured lawmaker in the state, now finds himself at the center of a still-evolving probe into ComEd, in which prosecutors are on record in asserting that the company engaged in a “years-long bribery scheme” involving jobs, contracts and payments that were steered to him in his role as house speaker and chairman of the Illinois Democratic Party.

While stopping short of formally levying any charges, prosecutors contend Commonwealth Edison attempted to “influence and reward” Madigan by providing financial benefits to those directly tied to him.

“This upcoming election is a chance for reformers to elect new legislators that will serve the people and be committed,” Breen added. “It’s an opportunity for us to destroy the corrupt machine now gripping our state.”

Breen, a Lombard resident, argues Costa-Howard is part of the problem.

“She told people that she would be against Madigan being reelected as speaker, but quickly broke her word about being independent of him,” he said. “The recipe to root out and destroy corruption is simple, but not easy. You have to shine a light on it every time you see it and you must elect people that will do the work of alleviating it. Right now, we have a body in Springfield where most of the people are not interested in fighting for what we all know is right.

In publicly announcing the case against ComEd public, U.S. Attorney John Lausch noted the investigation is ongoing. The Chicago Tribune reports federal investigators have moved to subpoena Madigan for information, including “possible job recommendations.”

In a statement, a spokesperson for Madigan said he plans to cooperate with the probe, adding “The speaker has never helped someone find a job with the expectation that the person would not be asked to perform work by their employer, nor did he ever expect to provide anything to a prospective employer if it should choose to hire a person he recommended.”