State Rep. Terra Costa Howard

State lawmakers praised the conviction of former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan on corruption charges Wednesday, but said more reforms are needed in Springfield.

“I feel numb in some ways — this should never have had to happen. A violation of public trust in such a manner is never excusable,” state Rep. Terra Costa Howard of Glen Ellyn said.

Costa Howard was among the first of 19 House Democrats to publicly call for Madigan’s ouster in 2020, after ComEd executives admitted to colluding with a state official later identified as the ex-speaker.

Speaking out initially against Madigan, who ruled the House with an iron hand, had serious repercussions.

“It was awful … the 19 of us received a great deal of pushback from colleagues, lobbyists, and certain organizations in ways we had not anticipated,” Costa Howard said.

Republican state Sen. Don DeWitte of St. Charles called Madigan “a highly intelligent man.”

“I believe he thought he may have been smart enough to push the envelope of ethics regulations to get away with what he did for so long. But I think this jury — clearly based on the time and diligence they took in dealing with this — were able to see some of his actions clearly crossed a line,” DeWitte said.

State Sen. Don DeWitte

Now, there’s “an opportunity for Democratic leaders in the legislature to put more stringent oversight and legislative authority into toughening the ethics laws in this state,” DeWitte added. “Unfortunately, like past convictions this will likely fall on deaf ears and the beat will roll on in Springfield.”

Costa Howard noted that “there are no ethics laws we could ever create to prevent what Michael Madigan did because he what did was illegal — there are already laws on the books.

“Are there steps we can take to tighten these things? Yes, we can always do better.”

State Senate President Don Harmon said the jury’s verdict closes a long, disturbing chapter in Illinois’ history.

“It’s a stark reminder that corruption, abuse of power and manipulation of public policy for personal gain can never be tolerated,” the Democrat from Oak Park said in a statement. “We cannot be effective if people don’t trust us.

“Yet, every failure is an opportunity to be better. In recent years, we have worked to restore that trust through balanced budgets, credit rating upgrades, community investments and sweeping, bipartisan ethics reform,” he added.

Former Illinois Speaker of the House Mike Madigan was convicted on corruption charges Wednesday in federal court.
AP