Kane County Reporter

A new report ranks Illinois as the third-most corrupt state in the country, and state Rep. Dan Ugaste (R-Geneva) is calling for ethics reform to end the state's culture of corruption.

A new report has ranked Illinois the third-most corrupt state in the country, a recent WTTW news release said. The report, which was co-authored by University of Illinois at Chicago professor and former 44th Ward Ald. Dick Simpson, draws on data from the U.S. Department of Justice. 

In the Northern District of Illinois, which covers Chicago and the northern third of the state, 22 public officials were convicted on corruption-related charges in 2020. That number is actually a decrease from 2019, when 26 Illinoisans were convicted of public corruption. Some of the corruption cases detailed in the report were related to former House Speaker Mike Madigan and his alleged bribery schemes with Commonwealth Edison.

"We have the power to end the culture of corruption in Illinois by enacting robust ethics reforms, creating a strong watchdog, and empowering citizens to act," Ugaste told the Kane County Reporter this week. "Let's give Illinois residents a government they can be proud of and build a better reputation for our state."

Former Illinois Speaker of the House Michael Madigan was indicted on March 2 and faces charges of racketeering conspiracy as well as individual counts of using interstate facilities to carry out bribery, wire fraud and attempted extortion, a release from the Department of Justice said. 

"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," the release said.

In addition to his role as Speaker of the House, Madigan has also held the positions of representative of Illinois’s 22nd District, committeeman for Chicago’s 13th Ward, chairman of both the Illinois Democratic Party and the 13th Ward Democratic Organization, and partner at the Chicago law firm of Madigan & Getzendanner.

Carol Pope, the last person to hold the position of Legislative Inspector General (LIG), resigned in July, stating her office was “essentially a paper tiger,” a Chicago Sun Times report said. Pope wrote in her resignation letter that when she accepted the position as LIG, she had hoped to be "able to make a difference working from the inside." 

Pope called out lawmakers for failing to pass effective ethics reform legislation and stated, "This last legislative session demonstrated true ethics reform is not a priority."

The office of LIG had been vacant for more than four years when Pope took the job in 2018.