Prairie State Wire

Sen. Win Stoller (R-Peoria) says though former House Speaker Mike Madigan is facing charges, corruption remains a problem in Springfield.

"While Madigan may be finally facing repercussion for his unethical dealings, his shady and questionable ways still pollute our state government," Stoller said in a statement. "It is our duty as public servants to root out the criminal corruption that has been allowed to fester."

He sees the indictment as a call for ethics reform legislation.

"The people of Illinois deserve better. They deserve elected officials who are willing to pass true ethics reform that will hold criminals posing as lawmakers accountable for their crimes," Stoller said.

Madigan was indicted on March 2 on federal racketeering and bribery charges. 

According to a release from the Department of Justice, "The 22-count indictment accuses Madigan of leading for nearly a decade a criminal enterprise whose purpose was to enhance Madigan's political power and financial well-being while also generating income for his political allies and associates." 

Madigan is facing charges of racketeering conspiracy, as well as individual counts of using interstate facilities to carry out bribery, wire fraud, and attempted extortion.

State legislators passed an ethics reform bill last year, which Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed in October. The Legislative Inspector General at the time, Carol Pope, announced her resignation in response to the bill.

ABC 20 reported that in her letter of resignation, Pope called the office of LIG a "paper tiger" and said that the ethics reform bill did not go far enough and actually tied her hands more than they had been before. Pope told ABC, "I'm thinking that the legislature knows the limitations of the power of the LIG and that they want it that way. That's why I said I am a paper tiger. There are no real teeth to this legislation the way it is now."

Illinois has a history of corruption in high places. Former Gov. Rod Blagojevich was impeached and convicted of multiple corruption charges. He served nearly eight years in prison. Former Gov. George Ryan was convicted of racketeering and served five years in prison. Former U.S. Rep. Dan Rostenkowski was convicted of corruption and served 17 months in prison.