Prairie State Wire

Republican state House hopeful Peter Breen insists he could have predicted how things would end in the federal corruption case against former state Sen. Terry Link.

“Terry Link is the consummate Illinois politician at a time when corruption is running wild in Springfield,” Breen told the Prairie State Wire. “He has always been tightly aligned with the Chicago Machine, working hand and hand with Speaker Mike Madigan and his team. It’s funny that the feds finally caught up with him for an unrelated offense. It’s almost like catching Al Capone for tax evasion instead of for the all the violent stuff he committed.”

Link, who served on the state’s Legislative Ethics Commission, recently pleaded guilty to failing to report income on his 2016 tax return to the IRS. At the time of their filing, authorities asserted his earnings “substantially exceeded” the $264,450 he reported for the year.

Running against incumbent state Rep. Terra Costa-Howard (D-Glen Ellyn) in the 48th District, Breen added he doesn’t expect things to end there.

“We don’t know what else he may have been involved in but we do know he implicated at least one other official by wearing a wire,” Breen said. “It’s gotten to the point that Illinois government now runs for the benefit of a handful of special interest groups and not the people of the state.”

With Madigan now at the center of a still unfolding federal corruption probe involving ComEd and a pay-for-play scheme, Breen said he’s shocked so many people have continued to stand behind the state’s longest-ternured lawmaker.

“He’s been raising money since he was highlighted in the ComEd investigation,” he said. “He now has more than $25 million to spend this election season. The huge money advantage Madigan has is the only reason he and his cronies have a chance of maintaining power.”