Rep. Spain: The Michael Madigan Way Continues in Springfield

The op-ed below by State Representative Ryan Spain was published in the Chicago Tribune on October 15, 2025.

State Rep. Ryan Spain: The Michael Madigan Way Continues in Springfield

Corrupt former Speaker of the Illinois House Michael Madigan has reported to prison. He will begin serving a 7 ½-year term for bribery, conspiracy and other corruption charges. But in Springfield, the Madigan way continues.

I was one of three members of the Illinois House five years ago to initiate a Special Investigative Committee in the House aimed at removing Madigan as the longest-serving speaker in U.S. history. I remember well the ways Madigan's chief defender, Rep. Emanuel "Chris" Welch, helped to prevent the important work of this committee and squelch testimony - a signal of how Madigan's roots of corruption overrule all aspects of House oversight. Welch went so far as to call it "nothing but politics."

"This is a sham, show trial," Welch said after only one committee hearing of embarrassing testimony by utility executives in December 2020.

Madigan was finally removed from his role as House speaker after it was clear that his legal troubles were growing, and Welch was elevated as his successor. Since that time, no substantive ethics reform legislation has been debated in the House or Senate committees, let alone on the floor of either chamber. To be clear, I say no substantive ethics reform legislation because the one bill Democrats passed into law - Public Act 102-664 - was so watered down and filled with loopholes that the legislative inspector general ultimately resigned in 2021 in protest. This bill actually made it harder to investigate corruption. It is not reform when you tie the hands of the person tasked with investigating legislative corruption.

Former Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn showed much bolder leadership than Democratic legislative leaders when Quinn backed various Republican-led ethics reform measures proposed in 2024. Former Democratic White House chief of staff Bill Daley also deserves credit for his support of efforts to end partisan gerrymandering in Illinois - with the collaboration of Ray LaHood, a former Republican congressman. The proposed amendment to the Illinois Constitution is a bold move in a state where Democrats have created a political map graded as "failing" by Princeton University's Gerrymandering Project. With artificial supermajorities engineered through gerrymandering, it's no wonder Democratic legislators have taken no action for good government reform in the four years since Madigan's fall.

Meanwhile, House Republicans have served up bills to empower the legislative inspector general, improve lobbying regulation and enforce conflict of interest rules. Our leader, Rep. Tony McCombie, has sponsored legislation to prevent campaign funds from being used for criminal defense. Again, in the time since Madigan was indicted, no substantive ethics bills have been debated in either chamber of the Illinois legislature, let alone called for a vote. It is shameful.

Sadly, the Madigan way has survived and strengthened in Springfield. The core of power in the Illinois House is still centralized entirely around one person. This person has the ability to block ethics legislation, disallow bipartisan coalition roll calls and send good governance measures to the legislative graveyard.

As Madigan begins his time in prison this week, Republican and Democratic legislators must recognize the cost of corruption in Illinois and finally commit to taking action.