On February 12, 2025, Michael J. Madigan, the longest-serving state House Speaker in American history and the most powerful politician in Illinois history, was convicted on ten felony counts. A jury of his peers found Madigan guilty on charges that ranged from conspiracy to bribery to wire fraud and stemmed from a decade-long scheme involving utility giant Commonwealth Edison. The former Speaker was implicated in a scheme to shake down the company for lobbying contracts and no-show jobs for Madigan’s political allies for legislation favorable to the company passing through the legislature.
Madigan’s convictions drew but a whimper from fellow Democrats in Illinois. We can only guess that it is because Illinois Democrats’ political machine is so entrenched, so insulated from accountability, that it believes it can operate with impunity under the status quo. Madigan’s fall from power was not an isolated event, but certainly the most dramatic in an embarrassing and corrupt era of Illinois governance.
Illinois House Republicans have been leading the charge to pass a bold anti-corruption agenda. To date, Democrats have largely ignored arrests, indictments, guilty verdicts, and the stain that each place on the public’s trust by ignoring a sweeping package of reforms proposed by key lawmakers.
House GOP Floor Leader Patrick Windhorst (R-Metropolis) serves as the Republican ranking member and spokesman on the House Ethics & Elections Committee. Windhorst has been a longtime advocate for anti-corruption reforms. Upon Madigan’s conviction, Windhorst said, “The time to start cleaning up Illinois government was many years ago. But today offers another opportunity. It’s time to get serious.”
Windhorst has authored and co-sponsored legislation to strengthen economic interest disclosures and ensure real consequences for misconduct. He also favors slamming shut the revolving door that allows legislators to become lobbyists quickly after leaving office.
Assistant Minority Leader Ryan Spain (R-Peoria) has focused on systemic reform. Spain has called out clear conflicts of interest in the Democratic majority and emphasized the need for campaign finance transparency. Spain is a co-sponsor of legislation that would ban politicians from using campaign funds for legal defense.
“Mike Madigan spent millions of dollars on his legal defense in a public corruption case that stemmed from his time in office,” Spain said. “He was raising these dollars while he was on the public dole, while he was putting his own financial interests first, and while, as it turns out, he was committing felonies. The fact that he could use campaign cash he raised while on this crime spree to mount his legal defense is wrong. The practice must end.”
107th District State Representative Blaine Wilhour (R-Beecher City) has sponsored an aggressive reform agenda. Wilhour, who is also a member of the House Personnel and Pensions Committee says Illinois is no longer at a crossroads regarding corruption.
“The corruption car has crashed right into the faith that the citizens of Illinois used to have in their government,” Wilhour said. “I’m pushing for a strong anti-corruption agenda to restore our state’s reputation.”
Wilhour’s ethics reform agenda includes freezing pensions for indicted lawmakers, mandatory ethics training for all legislators and staff, and stronger lobbying disclosures and financial transparency.
If the public’s faith in Illinois government is at an all-time low, it’s because the citizens of Illinois have lived through too many examples of officials using their office as a place of self-service and personal profiteering rather than as a place to serve the public first. Immediate, serious, sweeping ethics reforms are needed to save the state from further swirling the drain and maintaining an embarrassing reputation as a hotbed of public corruption.