Metro East Sun

After roughly four decades, former republican House hopeful Mike Babcock hopes the worse of Illinois’ problems may finally be over with new leadership in the House.

"... I can't see anyone being as bad for Illinois as Mike Madigan has been over all these years," Babcock told the Metro East Sun. "I know we have to see what the new leader is like, but Mike Madigan being in power for this long has really taken a toll on Illinois."

On Jan. 13, the Democratic-led House tapped Rep. Emanuel "Chris" Welch to replace Madigan, who had held the post for 36 years out of the last 38 years. Welch became the state's first Black House speaker.

Pressure mounted to move away from Madigan after he was implicated in an ongoing federal investigation about alleged brides that also involved ComEd. The utility company was fined $200 million. Madigan has not been charged with a crime and denied any wrongdoing.  The U.S. Justice Department is leading the investigation.

With Madigan still a state representative and chairman of the Illinois Democratic Party, Babcock hopes Springfield's break from his control is as thorough as it can be.

"As long as he's still in the House, you worry about him still lurking," he said. "You have to know he can still undermine any progress that might be started and be prepared to fight it. I truly find the fact that he's still allowed [to] be around sad and egregious."

In the case of Welch, Babcock said he hopes for the best, given that the Hillside representative is a Madigan ally and faced multiple accusations in court documents of harassing, assaulting and retaliating against women. No wrongdoing was found, and the cases dropped, the Associated Press reported.

"You keep close watch over everything and hope that Speaker Welch means the things he said about members working together and only be concerned about what is in the best interest of Illinois," he said.