House Speaker Mike Madigan | File photo
House Speaker Mike Madigan | File photo
Republican state House candidate Laura Curtis isn’t surprised to see embattled House Speaker Mike Madigan can still pack a crowd.
“It’s why he felt confident enough to think he doesn’t have to resign,” Curtis told the Kane County Reporter. “He knows The Machine means most of his caucus will still be there to support him and make it feel like business as usual.”
Curtis points to the way the state’s longest-running lawmaker was able to raise upwards of $555,000 in a single day just weeks after he was implicated in an ongoing federal corruption probe involving ComEd and a pay-for-play scheme as the kind of he has come to expect in his nearly four decades in power. As chair of at least four political groups, Madigan is now reported to have nearly $23 million in his political coffers, at least partly accounting for the informal title he holds in the eyes of many as the most powerful man in state politics.
“He’s still funneling money to other candidates,” added Curtis, who is running against Democrat Maura Hirschauer in the 49th District. “My opponent says she wants to put an end to corruption but all of her campaign fliers indicate they are paid for by the Illinois Democratic Party. It’s kind of talking out of both sides of your mouth to say you want to put an end to corruption in Springfield but still be taking money from Mike Madigan. You can’t get more hypocritical than that.”
Several media outlets have also reported at least some of his vast political warchest has gone to Madigan legally defending himself and his organization, including a sexual harassment allegation that was ultimately settled.
While state Rep. Deanne Mazzochi (R-Elmhurst) has filed a bill that would ban politicians from using campaign funds to pay legal bills for corruption cases, Curtis wonders how much will really change until lawmakers take a firm stance.
“Anybody complaining about Springfield needs to understand democrats have had control of both chambers of Congress for decades,” she said. "Not a thing is going to change until that happens.”
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