Prairie State Wire

Rep. Mike Madigan's (D-Chicago) tenure as House speaker finished is a mix of "good news and bad news," Peter Breen, a former House Floor leader and Republican representative.

"The good news is that he's finally out and may be on the verge of leaving Illinois politics completely," Breen told the Prairie State Wire. "The bad news is that one of his chief lieutenants was installed, making it seem like the plan is to continue the operations of the Madigan Machine with a new generation of Madigan loyalists."

After nearly 40-years of Madigan's leadership, lawmakers elected Rep. Emanuel "Chris" Welch (D-Hillside) to serve as House speaker.

Pressure mounted to move away from Madigan after he was implicated in an ongoing federal investigation about alleged brides that also involved ComEd. Federal authorities fined the utility company $200 million for its role, but ComEd did not admit any wrongdoing. Madigan has not been charged with a crime and denied any wrongdoing. The U.S. Justice Department is leading the investigation.

No matter who Welch proves to be as the House speaker, Breen believes that Springfield's business-as-usual nature may still be alive and well.

"The Democratic Party is entirely bought and paid for through the Madigan Machine, and that isn't going to change anytime soon," he alleged. "On top of that, there's a fear among some in Illinois that the next generation's leaders will be much more radically left-wing. One of the biggest fears is you will see much more radical left-wing legislation sail through the general assembly."

Illinois Republican Party Chairman Tim Schneider is among those not sold on Welch being the man for the job of cleaning up Springfield. He referred to Welch's close ties to Madigan and allegations about harassing, assaulting and retaliating against women.

Concerning the allegations raised by Schneider, authorities have not found any wrongdoing. In one instance, charges were never filed. The accusations reported in court documents were dismissed.