DeKalb Times

Dixon Mayor Liandro “Li” Arellano admits he’s been pleasantly surprised to see as many Democrats as he has call for the removal of House Speaker Mike Madigan, who has emerged as a central figure in an ongoing federal corruption probe.

“I think maybe some of it has stemmed from their fear of being tarred with the same corruption brush,” Arellano told the DeKalb Times. “I don’t think they want to see this thing linger because they have rarely, rarely held him accountable.”

After nearly four decades of being in control in Springfield, Madigan now finds himself at the center of an unfolding federal corruption probe involving ComEd. Federal prosecutors contend the company engaged in a “years-long bribery scheme” involving jobs, contracts and payments that were steered to him in his role as house speaker and chairman of the Illinois Democratic Party.

To date, no charges have been filed against the state’s longest-serving lawmaker, but prosecutors have not been shy in asserting that the utility giant sought to “influence and reward” Madigan by providing financial benefits to those directly tied to him.

Even as the scrutiny and pressure mounts, Arellano said he doesn’t expect to see Madigan change much about his approach.

“I think he’s held onto power way too long to just give it up,” he said. “Either the Democrats are going to have to vote for a different House speaker or the federal government is going to have to really keep the pressure on for him to walk away.”

In the end, Arellano said he is also hoping to see the voters of Illinois take back their power in assuring themselves of having the kind of government many of them insist they want to see.

“Voters have to be different,” he said. “If we keep voting in the same people, we’re going to keep having the same corruption. People are going to have to decide they’ve had enough and commit to acting on it if we really want to see something different.”