Quincy Reporter

Quincy activist Mecki Kosin is taking the news of Mike Madigan’s (D-Chicago) ouster as House speaker with a grain of salt.

“I don’t think we can breathe easy yet because the person replacing him is known to be one of his stooges,” Kosin told the Quincy Reporter. “I think it’s quite possible that Mike Madigan may still [be] running things from behind the scene.”

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 intensified on Madigan to step aside after being allegedly connected to an ongoing federal corruption investigation involving pay-to-play and ComEd, the state’s largest utility company. Federal authorities fined ComEd $200 million. 

Madigan has denied any involvement and has not been charged. The U.S. Justice Department is leading the investigation.

A special House Committee was also recently convened to look into his alleged role in the scheme, with expulsion from the House being among the penalties he could have faced.

For the change that she thinks needs to come to Springfield, it continues with moving forward. 

“We have to get started on fixing things and putting them back together and for that to happen, everyone in the Legislature essentially has to be replaced,” she said. “It’s not enough just to show Madigan the door because even now I don’t think lawmakers were making a statement about how corrupt he is by not voting for him. I think they just don’t want to get caught up in it all and are out to save their own hides.”

More and more, though, Kosin said she thinks voters are reaching their breaking point.

“That’s why they haven’t supported any of the governor’s recent tax increase proposals,” she said. “The fact that enough of our lawmakers finally held firm against Madigan, I hope, is a sign that they’re finally starting to get a little backbone as well.”