House progressive caucus says Madigan must resign if bribery scheme allegations are true
This is a photo of House Speaker Mike Madigan
CHICAGO - Members of the Illinois House of Representatives’ progressive caucus said Monday longtime House Speaker Michael Madigan must resign if allegations of a bribery scheme involving utility ComEd are true.
The 12 caucus members said the allegations disclosed Friday by federal prosecutors in Chicago are “an unacceptable breach of public trust.” They called on Madigan, a Chicago Democrat, and any other elected officials involved in the scheme to step down “if these allegations are true.”
Prosecutors said ComEd has agreed to pay $200 million to resolve a federal criminal investigation that implicates Madigan.
They say the company has admitted that from 2011 to 2019 it arranged for jobs and vendor subcontracts “for various associates of a high-level elected official for the state of Illinois.” The official is identified in other court filings as the Illinois House speaker.
Madigan, who is also chairman of the Democratic Party of Illinois, denied wrongdoing through a spokeswoman on Friday. Spokeswoman Maura Possley said he received subpoenas for records on Friday and would cooperate with federal authorities, “which he believes will clearly demonstrate that he has done nothing criminal or improper.”
Madigan has not been charged criminally.
The progressive caucus is led by Reps. Will Guzzardi and Theresa Mah of Chicago and Carol Ammons of Urbana.