Prairie State Wire

Republican state House candidate Peter Breen thinks 48th District rival Terra Costa-Howard now speaking out against House Speaker Mike Madigan has more to do with desperation than courage.

“She knows having Madigan in her corner is a losing proposition in the 48th District,” Breen told the Prairie State Wire. “Her latest moves show how desperate she is to get elected at almost any cost.”

The longest-serving lawmaker in state history, Madigan now finds himself at the center of ongoing federal corruption probe involving utility giant ComEd and a pay-for-play scheme.

“The people of the district are firmly against Madigan and his agenda,” Breen added. “Costa-Howard told people when she was running she wouldn’t support Madigan and then flipped around after she took office. Residents have been furious for two years because of her dishonesty.”

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.

Breen argues it's enablers like Costa-Howard that give Madigan more power.

“Even now her stance is hypocritical because while she’s said he needs to resign she’s said she will still take his money,” he said. “And we know he who writes the check calls the tunes. She can’t figure out whether she wants to be on the side of reform or corruption.”

Breen argues Madigan finally being held accountable on any level has been a long time coming.

“Everyone knows this needed to happen 20 years ago,” he said. “We should not reward politicians for being a little less corrupt than their colleagues. The only way to clean up coronavirus and all the of the disease in Illinois is to clean up Springfield. Right now, Mike Madigan still has an iron grip on the Democratic Party and the agenda that she supports is part of that.”