NW Illinois News

Republican state Rep. Andrew Chesney (R-Freeport) reels off all the examples of what he argues speaks to the one central problem crippling Illinois government.

“There’s a trust problem in the state,” Chesney said. "And we know there’s a trust problem, not just by the graduated income tax, we know there’s a trust problem, because people no longer want to live here, which is why we’re one of the few states that people are saying no to.”

Chesney argues that all stems from the lack of ethics now plaguing Springfield and how voters have rightfully become so distrustful of much of what they see and hear coming from the state Capital.

“Every dollar that they send to the state, at a minimum, doesn’t matter where you come from, you’re Democrat or Republican, every dollar we send to the state, we want people to feel comfortable that every dollar is being spent correctly,” he said. “We talk about ethics over and over and over again. As Democrats and Republicans, we continue to hammer this idea that we need to make all of our constituents 100% comfortable that when they send dollars to the state of Illinois, we’re going to spend them properly and ethically.”

Chesney points to Timothy Mapes, the longtime chief of staff of former House Speaker Mike Madigan recently being hit with federal perjury and attempted obstruction of justice charges as an example of all the chaos.  

The arraignment of Mapes, 66, took place during a remote hearing before U.S. District Judge John Lee, with the judge allowing him to remain free pending trial on an unsecured $10,000 bond.

With Madigan also recently being shown the door as part of the fallout from an ongoing federal corruption probe involving ComEd and a purported pay-for-play scheme, the Mapes development has renewed chatter about the need for ethics legislation in Springfield.

“And again, many of you will say nothing about the long-standing tradition of corruption in the state of Illinois,” Chesney said. “These are different than philosophical differences we have as Democrats and Republicans and urban legislators or rural legislators. We have a trust problem in this state. And that’s why when the majority party put forward the graduated income tax, it got soundly defeated.”