Kane County Reporter

State Rep. Dan Ugaste (R-Geneva) renewed his call for ethics reform after former House Speaker Mike Madigan declined to show up for his arraignment hearing and pled not guilty in his case related to AT&T.

“An honest and transparent state government is possible in Illinois but it means ending the culture of corruption that has embarrassed our state for decades,” he wrote on Facebook. “If Democrats are serious about earning the trust of Illinois residents, they will join us in the fight for real ethics reform today.”

The Chicago Tribune reported Madigan voted on a bill that would’ve ended landline service for approximately 1.2 million AT&T customers.

Madigan and his ally, lobbyist Mike McClain, both declined to show up for their arraignment hearings on Nov. 1 and pled "not guilty" to conspiracy charges related to their involvement with AT&T Illinois, WIFR reported.

Illinois Policy reported Governor J.B. Pritzker condemned Madigan.

AT&T Illinois has agreed to pay $23 million as part of a deferred prosecution agreement in the investigation of Madigan's political operation, Yahoo reported. AT&T Illinois has admitted to attempting to influence Madigan to advance legislation in their interest by sending payments to one of his allies. The U.S. Attorney’s Office will drop the charges against AT&T in two years since the company admitted guilt.

Illinois Policy reported corruption costs Illinoisans approximately $550 million a year in lost economic growth.

McClain, Madigan's ally, is accused of conspiring with Madigan to accept bribes from AT&T Illinois, Capitol News Illinois reported. Paul La Schiazza, the former AT&T Illinois president, is also accused of attempting to influence Madigan.

The Chicago Tribune reported La Schiazza approved the payments.

“AT&T Illinois caused the payments to be made through an intermediary – a lobbying firm that performed services for AT&T Illinois – to conceal the true nature of the payments, which was to influence and reward Madigan’s efforts as Speaker to assist the company with respect to certain legislation,” federal prosecutors alleged. "Although the members of the conspiracy formulated a pretextual assignment for Madigan’s ally to disguise why the ally was being paid, the ally performed no actual work for AT&T Illinois and had no role in advancing the legislation."

The Chicago Tribune reported the bill AT&T lobbied for would have left many Illinois seniors without communication with family taking care of them.

Madigan was indicted on March 2 for 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. The release notes that 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.

The United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois wrote the $23 million is going to the Crime Victims Fund.

Madigan also pled "not guilty" to those 22 charges, Advantage News reported.