Prairie State Wire

GOP state House hopeful Peter Breen describes a University of Illinois at Chicago calculation that places the annual cost of corruption in the state at $556 million as a lowball estimate.

“Everyone knows this government is for sale and that figure is only a partial measure of what we pay because of all the special interests and pay to play schemes,” Breen told the Prairie State Wire. “And it’s a known fact that corruption depresses economic growth.”

Over the last two decades, researchers also found the state’s corruption price-tag easily tops $10 billion, or around $830 per resident.

This year alone, at least four state lawmakers have been indicted on corruption charges, adding to the state’s long and sordid political history that includes four governors having been sentenced to prison over the last five decades. Presently, longtime House Speaker Mike Madigan finds himself cast as a central figure in the ongoing federal probe involving utility giant ComEd and a pay-for-play scheme.

“I’m hoping all these indictments will give us the critical mass we need to push through all the needed reforms,” added Breen, who is running against incumbent state Rep. Terra Costa-Howard (D-Glen Ellyn) in the 48th District. “Up until now, the majority of legislators in Springfield have either been silent on the issue of reform or have actively opposed it. The actions of the people are the only way to pressure lawmakers into adopting the reforms we need to save our state.”

Among the reforms Breen said he’d most like to see are term limits and fair maps.

“I also think it’s important we do something about preventing legislators from becoming lobbyists and strengthening our campaign finance laws,” he said. “All of those are good ideas, but the reality is we need a bunch of reform measures to have any chance of getting the job done.”