NW Illinois News

Dixon Mayor Liandro “Li” Arellano thinks that after roughly four decades, House Speaker Mike Madigan is officially on the clock in his role as the state’s powerful lawmaker.

“With all that’s happening right now with the speaker, I think Democrats in Springfield recognize that he’s a detriment to the brand,” Arellano told the NW Illinois News. “They see all the corruption and they don’t want to be associated with it. This past election, with the fair tax going down, really damaged him and many have just had enough.”

Arellano said he’s not the least bit surprised that 18 Democrat lawmakers have now stepped forward to insist they have no intention of supporting Madigan in his reelection efforts. The state’s longest-tenured lawmaker is vowing to seek another term as fallout from the ongoing ComEd scandal and federal corruption probe it has sparked continue to play out. The latest shoe to drop includes the indictment of four individuals with ties to Madigan, including longtime associate and lobbyist Michael McClain, who now faces bribery charges stemming from a years-long, pay-to-play scheme in which perks were allegedly steered to Madigan in exchange for favorable legislation.

“It’s past time for new blood in leadership and new ideas in Springfield,” Arellano added. “We’ve needed more reform and ethics laws on books for a while.”

Arellano argues that Madigan being shown the door isn’t enough on its own to bring about the level of change that’s clearly needed in Springfield.

“We need lawmakers that are willing to put the welfare of the people before everything, including their personal agendas,” he said. “We’ve got big things like fair maps coming up that we really need to get right and the only way to do that is to have people in place that are willing to make a big public push about it so that we’re able to hold Gov. (J.B.) Pritzker to his word on the issue.”