Following the announcement that federal prosecutors are seeking to sentence former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan to 12 ½ years in prison and seek a $1.5 million fine for his conviction on bribery and other conspiracy charges, Deputy House Minority Leader Ryan Spain (R-Peoria) released the following statement:
“No amount of time behind bars can pay back the people of Illinois for the corruption that Mike Madigan poisoned our statehouse with over his decades in power, but I commend federal prosecutors for seeking as strong a sentence as they could. While I won’t hold my breath waiting for it, this should be a message to Democrats in the legislature that it is long past time to fix the ethical loopholes in Illinois government that have eroded public trust.
“I’ve said more times than I can count, Illinois needs to act on ethics reform, so we can stop relying on federal prosecutors to clean up our mess. The time for honest, transparent government in the state of Illinois is now!”