South Cook News

Eric Wallace doesn't believe that Mike Madigan has fully resigned his power over Illinois' government when he quit his post in mid-February.

"In my mind, there's still a question of if he's really out of power," the former Republican House candidate told the South Cook News. "He may not be in Springfield any longer, and he may not still be sitting in office, but he still controls millions of dollars to influence people with. Just because he stepped down doesn't mean he still doesn't wield power."

After a half-century in state politics and almost 40-years in power, Madigan abruptly stepped down from his 22nd District seat as scandal swirled around him in connection to an alleged pay-for-play scheme involving ComEd.

To date, federal authorities have not filed charges against Madigan, and he admits to no wrongdoing. However, at least four individuals with links to him have been indicted as part of the probe. Investigators have also slapped ComEd with a $200 million fine.

The state's longest-tenured lawmaker was replaced as House speaker by Rep. Emanuel "Chris" Welch (D-Hillside) after his party's members decided not to support his reelection.

Wallace said that Welch's selection as Madigan's successor also gives him pause.

"The way Welch has all the same rules in place as Madigan did when he was, leads me to believe not much has changed," he said. "All that's happened is the person sitting in the chair has changed. To me, everything else is the exact same."

Wallace said he's hoping Welch will be able to rise up to the challenge of putting people over politics by pushing for legislation that's needed to get the state back on track.

"I certainly hope that's the case," he said. "It would really be disappointing if we had these changes in personnel, but nothing else changed," he added.

Madigan also resigned his post as chairman of the Illinois Democratic Party.