On Oct. 13, former Illinois Speaker of the House Mike Madigan, now also known as Inmate #90368-509, reported to federal prison to begin a 7.5-year sentence after being convicted on 10 counts of public corruption. His incarceration marks a long-overdue moment of justice. However, an initial punishment against the disgraced former Speaker could have and should have been delivered much sooner.

Back in August 2020, while serving in the Illinois House of Representatives, I led an effort and joined two of my Republican colleagues in filing a petition under a specific House rule to launch a Special Investigating Committee into Madigan’s alleged misconduct. At the time, Madigan’s name had become synonymous with a sprawling federal investigation involving ComEd and a well-documented pattern of abuse of power that cast a long shadow over the Capitol.

The committee was supposed to be the General Assembly’s own mechanism for accountability. It was intended to be a means of determining whether one of our own had betrayed public trust. But from the beginning, that effort was stifled. The committee heard testimony from just one witness before it was abruptly shut down by Madigan’s right-hand man and ultimate successor as Speaker of the House, Chris Welch. When shutting down the committee, Welch called the effort “a sham show trial.”

When Welch ended the proceedings after hearing from just one witness, he shined a spotlight on a political culture in Springfield that prioritizes loyalty, power, and self-preservation over integrity and accountability.

Thank goodness the Feds saw Welch’s actions for what they were and forged ahead with their own investigation against Mike Madigan.

Although Madigan now sits behind bars, Illinois’ culture of corruption is still very much alive today. The legislative response to this latest embarrassment has been silence, not reform. Several ethics reform bills have been filed by Republicans in both the House and the Senate, aiming to raise the ethical bar for elected officials. These proposals include commonsense measures like empowering watchdogs, improving transparency in lobbying, and strengthening investigative processes within the legislature.

Every one of these bills has sat untouched, blocked by Democrat leaders who appear far more interested in protecting the status quo than fixing a rotten system. In fact, when addressing the press corps before the first day of veto session this year, Speaker Welch said he did not intend to bring forward any ethics reforms during the fall session.

The refusal to even debate reforms filed by Republicans sends a message that corruption will only be punished when federal prosecutors get involved. That should alarm every Illinoisan who is tired of seeing their government operate like a criminal enterprise instead of a public institution.

The Madigan saga may have culminated in a conviction, but the culture that enabled him for decades remains intact. It is a culture that rewards silence, punishes whistleblowers, and protects those in power. Real change in Illinois will not come from a single resignation or a high-profile sentencing. It will come when the legislature finally chooses to clean house, not just symbolically, but structurally. Until then, the people of Illinois have every reason to remain skeptical of the promises made inside the Capitol.

We must stop pretending that accountability ends when the prison doors close behind a disgraced politician. True reform begins when we change the rules that allow any elected official who abuses their power to thrive in the first place.

Andrew Chesney, R-Freeport, is the Illinois state senator for the 45th District.