by Joe Tabor, Senior Policy Analyst
Illinois Policy
The feds are circling Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan in a bribery investigation involving utility giant ComEd. His allies are facing indictments. Members of his party are publicly demanding his ouster as party chair, and they have the votes to deny him another term as House speaker. It’s tempting to think just overthrowing Madigan will clean up the mess. But ousting Madigan won’t eliminate Illinois’ ethics problems or disperse power so the state again has representational government. Illinois leaders must throw out the corrupt system Madigan has built over decades.
Three years ago, Madigan celebrated his record as the longest-serving state House speaker in U.S. history. Today, it looks as if his grip on power is slipping. As of this writing, 19 state representatives have publicly opposed Madigan’s re-election this January. But these lawmakers won’t just be voting on Madigan: they’ll also vote to adopt the House Rules, which help determine how much control the speaker has over the legislative process. These rules, coupled with the lack of safeguards against this steady accumulation of power, have led Madigan to where he is today. Without change, a shrewd politician could simply pick up where Madigan left off.
The House Rules establish how business gets done in the legislature. These rules let the speaker decide which bills get a fair hearing and which quietly die. They allow the speaker to select which politicians receive generous stipends as committee chairs. They allow politicians to gut and replace bills to rush through legislation – such as all 1,581 pages of the $40.6 billion fiscal year 2020 budget, originally a single-sentence bill appropriating just $2.
And, contrary to the Illinois Senate, which sets term limits of the Senate president at 10 years, the House Rules do not limit the number of terms a speaker can hold. Terms as speaker should be limited to prevent another Madigan.
This January, state representatives should reject the current House Rules. They can and should be amended.
But change can’t end there. Illinois needs to reform the way it draws political maps. Every 10 years, Illinois is required to redraw voting districts to adjust for shifts in population. But redistricting in Illinois has been used to keep incumbents in power. Earlier this month, 63 candidates ran unopposed for legislative office, including a whopping 52 of the 118 seats in the Illinois House of Representatives. This result is entirely predictable: Illinois legislators are responsible for voting on the map, so of course they will do what they can to benefit themselves. And Madigan’s bid for a new term has centered on his argument that he has the power to deliver another map that keeps his people from facing opponents.
It doesn’t have to be this way. Illinois could join the 17 other states that put independent commissions or other bodies in charge of redistricting – not lawmakers. Voters should choose their elected officials, not the other way around.
There needs to be more transparency and accountability in Springfield. Sitting lawmakers should not be able to lobby local governments or state executive agencies, and they should have a “cooling off” period after leaving the General Assembly before they lobby their former peers, as is the case in most other states. Lawmakers need to provide more detailed financial disclosures and should have to recuse themselves from voting on legislation in which they have a conflict of interest. Finally, the legislative inspector general needs the authority to open investigations and publish findings of wrongdoing without obtaining permission from lawmakers on the Legislative Ethics Commission, who have a propensity to cover for their own.
Madigan may be down, but he’s not out. Whether he can win back enough votes to get a 19th term as speaker remains to be seen, but Illinoisans deserve ethics reform no matter what. Changing the House Rules, adopting fair maps and instituting ethics reforms would begin unraveling Madigan’s web of corruption.
Joe Tabor is a senior policy analyst at the Illinois Policy Institute, a nonpartisan research organization that promotes responsible government and free market principles.
The Gallup results were nearly identical to The Sentinel's online poll where 38% of the respondents said would not be vaccinated as well. Polls completed by 
Christmas has different beginning times for most everyone.
For some it's when you put up the Christmas tree and decorations. For others it's when you wrap some presents and put them under the tree.
While for others it's about the Christmas music. When they first start hearing Christmas songs on the radio then Christmas has begun for them.
Christmas may begin for you when your family arrives home to share in your celebration. Or your Christmas celebration may really begin when your family finally leaves.
When I was a child Christmas started for me when everything came together. The big fresh tree was hewn down from the hillside. Once it was decorated, I started watching for Santa. But it still was 't Christmas until I came up with a big package of firecrackers, cherry bombs and other noisy fireworks. I always loved putting firecrackers and cherry bombs under cans to see how far they would fly through the air.
My mother would make cookies, cakes and pies. My dad would always buy a big box of apples and oranges. It seems like they lasted a week.
Christmas really began when family came home. When we all got together that's when it seemed Christmas really started. The excitement came by us all being together. Sharing gifts was fun and provided moments of laughter. Eating my mother's delicious meal was always a stable holiday treat we always enjoyed.
The best past part was everyone being together for a couple of days. With social distancing, this may be one element of Christmas that many will not get to enjoy in 2020.
So many thousands of people have died from Covid-19 and they will be missed at the Christmas table. If this is you please cling to the hope of life beyond this world and that you will see your loved one again.
I believe throughout our planet that seeing our sick friends get well would make Christmas for all of us.
Christmas is different this year. We must enter Christmas this year with hope. You have to have hope to live. Life without hope is like a car with no fuel. A vaccine for Covid-19 is coming. We are praying this will spare lives in 2021. We have hope that by next Christmas we can all get together and celebrate.
Keep in mind there has never been anything normal about Christmas. Mary and Joseph and the baby spent their first Christmas in a barn which was like a cave for animals. The baby was laid in a cow's trough for a bed. Christmas always has the potential of being very different.
Remember Christmas is in your heart and that's where your main celebration and hope lie. May hope and Christmas be bright and rekindled anew and afresh.
May you within your spirit hear the bells on Christmas day. And, may you hear the angels sing, "Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to all men on whom his favor rests."
