Grundy Reporter

State Rep. David Welter (R-Morris) joined other Republican House members in calling for the resignation Michael Madigan after the Democrat House Speaker was accused of being involved in a bribery scheme with Commonwealth Edison, the state’s biggest electricity producer.

“Speaker Madigan should resign immediately,” Welter said on his web page at repwelter.com. “The charges filed against ComEd clearly demonstrate that the Speaker lacks the ethical standing to continue in his position. Gov. Pritzker (D-Il) has a responsibility to lead on this issue and speak on behalf of Democrats, Republicans and independents throughout Illinois that we have zero tolerance for public corruption in this state.”   

Commonwealth Edison, which has been described as a near-monopoly, supplies electricity for a major portion of Illinois including Chicago. The company is accused of hiring political allies of the House Speaker to gain his favor, including company-friendly legislation and increased profits. A report in ABC 7 Chicago said the charge against Madigan is that he secretly reaped the benefits from influence-peddling bribes made by officials at ComEd who have admitted making the payments.

Madigan has not been charged.   

Federal prosecutors on July 17 unveiled the criminal complaint against ComEd officials charging them with bribery. Prosecutors are willing to toss the charge, titled a “deferred prosecution agreement,” if company officials cooperate with investigators and pay a $200 million fine. The ABC 7 report said ComEd officials agreed to pay the $200 million to seek an end to a several-year investigation by federal officers for alleged illegal lobbying, graft, corruption and sweetheart deal-making.

Welter joined fellow Republican representatives Dan Ugaste, Grant Wehrli  and Deanne Mazzochi in calling for Madigan to step down, and demanded that Pritzger call a special meeting of the General Assembly to reform the system.

Staffers for Madigan in a written response in the ABC 7 report denied the House Speaker had committed any wrongdoing.

"The Speaker has never helped someone find a job with the expectation that the person would not be asked to perform work by their employer, nor did he ever expect to provide anything to a prospective employer if it should choose to hire a person he recommended,” the staffers were quoted. “He has never made a legislative decision with improper motives and has engaged in no wrongdoing here. Any claim to the contrary is unfounded. This morning the Speaker accepted subpoenas related to his various offices for documents, asking for, among other things, documents related to possible job recommendations. He will cooperate and respond to those requests for documents, which he believes will clearly demonstrate that he has done nothing criminal or improper."