Metro East Sun

Doug Jameson opposed Mike Madigan serving as speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives before reports broke last week of his ties to a bribery scandal.

Jameson was a Republican House candidate for District 113 in the 2018 election. Days before votes were cast, he made his views plain in an interview with the Belleville News-Democrat.

“I have signed ‘The People’s Pledge,’ which states I will vote for someone — anyone — other than Speaker Michael Madigan for Speaker of the House, ending his reign in power which is the longest in United States history for a state speaker of the House,” he said. “There are many qualified candidates to be speaker of the House. Since it is unclear which representative(s) will run for this position, it is premature to indicate which candidate I’ll support. That being said, voters should know that I WILL NOT vote for Mike Madigan to retain this position.”

Rep. Mike Madigan | File Photo

Jameson, an Army veteran and Realtor, lost to Rep. Jay Hoffman (D-Swansea) 59-37 percent, but has maintained a strong interest in politics and government. He has followed the investigation into corruption in Springfield.

After Commonwealth Edison agreed to a plea deal and a $200 million fine for attempting to influence state legislation, with Madigan identified as the primary target of that influence, Jameson said his mind had not changed. It was time for Madigan to go.

He said the lawmakers who kept putting Madigan in the speaker’s chair for three decades should pay a political price as well.

“Only that I'm in agreement with the state party chairman,” Jameson told Metro East Sun. “And that we should hold those state representatives accountable in November who voted to elected Madigan as speaker this last election cycle.”

Illinois Republican Party Chairman Tim Schneider said Madigan should resign.

“The people of Illinois now live in a state where both the speaker of the House and the governor are under criminal investigation,” Schneider said. “Even for a state with a history of corruption, this is unprecedented.”

ComEd agreed to a deferred prosecution while admitting that “it arranged for jobs and vendor subcontracts for Public Official A’s political allies and workers even in instances where those people performed little or no work that they were purportedly hired by ComEd to perform," the U.S. Attorney's Office said in a statement.

"In addition to the jobs and contracts, ComEd further admitted that it undertook other efforts to influence and reward Public Official A, including by appointing an individual to ComEd’s Board of Directors at the request of Public Official A; retaining a particular law firm at the request of Public Official A; and accepting into the company’s internship program a certain amount of students who resided in the Chicago ward where Public Official A was associated," the statement said.

“Public Official A” was identified as the speaker of the House, but Madigan is not mentioned by name.

According to federal prosecutors, ComEd wanted the General Assembly to pass legislation that “had a substantial impact on ComEd’s operations and profitability, including legislation that affected the regulatory process used to determine the electricity rates ComEd charged its customers.”

Madigan, who denied all responsibility for illegal actions in a July 17 statement, said he will cooperate with the investigation, which has been ongoing since at least 2019.