Madigan leaves behind a test for Pritzker and Welch - Crain's Chicago Business

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The end of Michael Madigan's long tenure as speaker of the Illinois House gives his successor, Chris Welch, and Gov. J.B. Pritzker an opportunity to show their commitment to reform—or not.
During nearly four decades atop Illinois politics, Madigan also served as the unchallenged guardian of the system that gave him power and wealth. Few dared to propose or support tightening the loose rules that allowed Madigan ( and many others in state politics, it should be noted), to operate with such impunity. Cross the speaker on an issue close to his power source, and your political future would suddenly turn bleak.

Madigan's power also provided cover for politicians lacking the inclination or stomach to take on entrenched corruption and its many practitioners.  When such attempts were seen as futile in a realm controlled by boss Madigan, who could fault legislators and even governors for going along to get  along?

Well, Madigan is gone now, and so is the excuse he has provided for inaction on corruption and fiscal mismanagement in state government. No longer do politicians who support reforms need to fear his punitive wrath. 

With some bold leadership, Illinois can start to climb out of the deep hole dug during Madigan's reign. Which brings us to Messrs. Welch and Pritzker, the most likely candidates to fill the power vacuum Madigan leaves behind.
Not that high expectations are in order. While both men utter proper platitudes about good government and fiscal prudence, neither cramped Madigan's style while he was in power. 

Pritzker wouldn't move aggressively to reduce the unfunded employee pension obligations that are burying Illinois alive, for fear of angering Madigan's pals in public sector unions. Welch, a long-time Madigan ally, ran interference for the speaker as head of a legislative committee probing bribery allegations that surfaced in the Commonwealth Edison scandal that finally brought Madigan down.

Still, Madigan's departure opens up new possibilities for Pritzker and Welch. The governor's elbow room will expand now that he no longer has to contend with a Democratic rival who wields more power in the party and the statehouse. Welch, as Madigan's successor, will enjoy the prerogatives that come with the speaker's gavel.

Some suspect Madigan will continue pulling strings from behind the throne. Perhaps, but his clout was waning even before he lost the speakership. He backed losing candidates in the recent elections, breaking a cardinal rule of Illinois politics and revealing himself to be beatable. If power is the perception of power, Madigan's is fading fast.

It's also true that Madigan was a product of the system he oversaw, not its progenitor. Corruption is endemic in Illinois politics, and won't end with his exit. Too many others in influential posts have a stake in the status quo. And those public employee unions haven't lost their power to punish and reward politicians.

But federal prosecutors have dealt the old system a series of staggering blows in recent years. Apparent untouchables ranging from Chicago Ald. Ed Burke to former State Sens. Terry Link and Martin Sandoval have been criminally charged, along with lesser lights in local  government.  (Burke denies wrongdoing, Link and Sandoval pleaded guilty). Now Madigan has been forced out after prosecutors made clear that he was the ultimate beneficiary of the bribery scheme laid out in Commonwealth Edison's deferred prosecution agreement.

The aged superstructure of corruption is teetering. A good push or two might bring it down. Welch and Pritzker are well-positioned to deliver the pushes.

What we don't know is how interested they are in overturning the old system. They'll soon have opportunities to signal their intentions. I'll be watching a couple of pieces of legislation.

First up is a firefighters' pension bill passed in the recently ended legislative session. The measure increases cost-of-living adjustments for a group of more than 2,000 Chicago firefighters, adding $850 million to the city's pension costs over the next 25 years.

As a Crain's editorial pointed out this week, generous cost-of-living increases are a key driver behind Illinois' $141 billion pension funding gap. A bill that increases cost-of-living adjustments for any public employees will only worsen the problem. If Pritzker really cares about fixing Illinois' finances, he'll veto the bill.

Welch's test is a package of legislative ethics reforms that has been stalled for some time. The measure would bring the state's woefully porous ethical rules up to national standards. Among other reforms, the package would prohibit sitting legislators from lobbying other government agencies, ban legislators from working as lobbyists for a year after leaving office, require more disclosure of legislators' outside incomes, and impose term limits on legislative leaders. Most importantly—and most objectionably to some in Springfield--it provides for a truly independent legislative inspector general empowered to launch corruption investigations against members without first getting approval from a legislative committee.

As speaker, Welch will have the power to push the ethics package forward and cajole legislators into supporting it. If he's serious about reform, that's what he'll do.

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Madigan leaves behind a test for Pritzker and Welch - Crain's Chicago Business
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