Metro East Sun

Newly elected state Rep. Amy Elik (R-Alton) is urging voters not to surrender in the fight to hold House Speaker Mike Madigan more accountable.

“Voters in the 111th District rejected Mike Madigan and demanded ethics be restored in Springfield this past November,” Elik said. “Monday’s hearing was another reminder that there is still work to be done to hold Mike accountable.”

Members of a bipartisan Special House committee convened this year to look into some of the longtime speaker’s most suspect behavior in a widening scandal involving ComEd and a pay-for-play scheme where all the perks were steered to him abruptly moved to end their probe after hearing from just one witness and not issuing a subpoena for Madigan to appear.

The growing scandal has also led to an ongoing federal corruption probe leading to the recent indictments of several individuals with ties to Madigan, including longtime lobbyist and noted pal Mike McClain.

During the latest proceedings, members of the six-person panel spent most of the time in the first gathering they’d engaged in since September sparing over process before arriving at a deadlocked vote that played out completely along party lines.

Elik pulls no punches in articulating where she stands and expressing her outrage things have come to this.

“The ComEd bribery scandal that was laid out by federal investigators requires more than just answers from Mike Madigan,” she said. “It demands his full resignation and departure from our state government.”

While the Democrat chair, Rep. Emanuel “Chris” Welch of Hillside, blasted the hearing as a “political show trial” and a “sham,” Elik has already moved on to what she’s convinced has to happen for the state to finally begin to move on. 

“I look forward to working with my colleagues who are serious about ending the purge of corruption in Springfield and finally restoring transparency and trust at the Capitol," she said.