Quincy Reporter

Quincy conservative activist Mecki Kosin argues nothing short of a complete overhaul of Springfield will do if real ethics reform is to ever be attained.

“In my mind, the governor needs to go along with Mike Madigan and many of his enablers,” Kosin told the Quincy Reporter. “It’s just crazy the way they are running this state into the ground.”

Kosin points to a new University of Illinois at Chicago analysis that finds the state’s culture of corruption annually costs taxpayers in the neighborhood of $556 million. Researchers also noted Illinois ranks as the second-most corrupt state in the country (behind Louisiana) and Chicago is the most corrupt city in the U.S., all of which goes a long way in crippling the state’s chances for economic growth.

Over the last two decades, researchers also found the state’s corruption price-tag easily tops $10 billion, or around $830 per resident.

“We need to turn everything in Springfield red,” Kosin added. "The cost of corruption here in Illinois has become like a cancer that has to be taken out.”

This year alone, at least four state lawmakers have been indicted on corruption charges, adding to the state’s long and sordid political history that includes four governors having been sentenced to prison over the last five decades. Presently, longtime House Speaker Mike Madigan finds himself cast as a central figure in the ongoing federal probe involving utility giant ComEd and a pay-for-play scheme.

Kosin adds the change that she’s talking about was regularly touched on by former Gov. Bruce Rauner, but the machine proved too big, too powerful and too dirty for him to make a difference.

“It’s a lot to handle,” Kosin added. “It’s going to take all of us coming together and fighting to make a difference.”