(The Center Square) – Republican lawmakers want to subpoena some additional witnesses in the House Special Investigating Committee review of a bribery scheme that implicated Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan.
Committee chairman state Rep. Chris Welch, D-Hillside, said this week that House Minority Leader Jim Durkin, R-Western Springs, is a possible witness in this case because he supported ComEd legislation years ago.
“In his own press release, he and former Gov. Bruce Rauner said he had to move mountains to get that legislation passed,” Welch said.
Republicans said Durkin and the legislation are not the subjects of the federal case. State Rep. Tom Demmer, R-Dixon, said Madigan’s power to call such legislation and ComEd’s admission to trying to influence Madigan is.
“What we’re focused on here is a stunning admission of a decade-long bribery scheme that has been admitted to in federal court by one of the largest companies in the state of Illinois, who also had to pay a $200 million fine as a result.”
Madigan has declined to voluntarily testify. Republicans Thursday sent Welch 10 draft subpoenas of people they want to testify, including Madigan.
The others the GOP members want to subpoena include former ComEd lobbyist John Hooker, former lobbyist Michael McClain, former Exelon Utilities CEO Anne Parmaggiore, former Chicago Alderman Michael Zalewski and former ComEd lobbyist Jay Doherty.
They also want to subpoena Fidel Marquez, who pleaded guilty to bribery in the case on Tuesday. He’s expected to voluntarily testify to the House committee. It’s unclear when that will happen.
Republicans named several others they said are newly revealed from testimony delivered by ComEd earlier this week: Frank Olivo, Raymond Nice, and Juan Ochoa.
Republicans on the committee are also asking the legislator who just announced she’s running for the speaker’s seat to help put the pressure on him to testify.
State Rep. Stephanie Kifowit, D-Oswego, is unopposed in the November election. She announced Thursday she’s going to run for speaker, a seat Madigan’s held for all but two years since 1983.
State Rep. Deanne Mazzochi, R-Oswego, said Kifowit could show some leadership and drum up support to subpoena Madigan.
“I think that would be fantastic and I would gladly support her in any effort to get more of her members on the public record, saying ‘Speaker Madigan must come to testify before this committee and he should be subpoenaed to do so if he will not voluntarily comply,” Mazzochi said.
Kifowit said she will refrain from getting involved.
“I’m not going to get involved in the committee and those inner workings of the investigatory committee,” Kifowit said.
Kifowit has received nearly $800,000 from political funds Madigan controls since 2013, according to campaign finance records.
“It doesn’t influence me, I’m an independent thinker,” Kifowit said.
Through a spokesperson, Madigan called for unity.
“We are at a critical juncture in our country, and all of us should be focused on coming together to defeat Donald Trump,” he said. “We have a lot of work to do, and I’m focused on the November election and addressing the devastating effects of COVID-19 on the workers, families and people of Illinois.”
As to the timing of holding Madigan accountable, Mazzochi had concerns.
“The fact that chairman Welch once again refused to set a date for the next committee hearing, declined to actually start the process for issuing subpoenas, it certainly is leading to additional delay,” she said.
“Once again, Republican members have shown that they are not interested in cooperation, they are not interested in a serious process befitting the rules they invoked, and frankly they are not interested in the truth,” Welch said in a statement Thursday afternoon. “They are solely interested in headlines, half-truths, and distractions to prop up their dimming political prospects.”
“I will not allow this Committee to be used as a stage for political theater,” he said.
After the scheme was revealed in July, U.S. Rep. Darin LaHood, R-Peoria, expected a Madigan indictment could come down within weeks. Thursday, he said he doesn’t have specific knowledge about the case, but has insight as a former federal prosecutor.
“The Department of Justice has a policy that they don’t issue indictments for public officials or people running for office as candidates 60 days before an election,” LaHood said.
LaHood now expects more prosecutorial action in the case after the Nov. 3 election.