DeKALB, Ill. – Governor JB Pritzker continuing to answer questions now that former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan has been charged with racketeering and bribery.
During an event Thursday to tout higher education funding increases he’s proposing, Pritzker told a crowd at Northern Illinois University he had some recent contact with Madigan.
“On March first, I called to let him know that we would be making changes at the Illinois Arts Council,” said Pritzker.
A council that Madigan’s wife Shirley has chaired for nearly four decades — almost the entire run of Mike Madigan’s speakership.
Federal prosecutors say while the “Governor of Illinois” was referenced in the charging documents filed against Michael Madigan for alleged bribery and racketeering, they were quick to say neither the Governor nor his staff are being accused of any wrongdoing. That doesn’t mean Pritzker hasn’t had a talk with prosecutors.
“I was asked to be a witness, and that they wanted to talk about any interactions, and I was happy to cooperate and answer any and all of their questions,” said Pritzker. “I’ve answered all of them, in fact.”
Pritzker would not say what questions he answered, directing that to the U.S. Attorney. He did call the charges against Madigan and an associate “abhorrent,” and renewed a call to continue to pass meaningful ethics reform legislation.
Even though Illinois has developed somewhat of a reputation when it comes to politicians being charged with offenses related to corruption, should you show distrust in your local lawmakers, just because one like Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan is now under federal indictment?
“The vast majority of the people who serve in the General Assembly, and broadly in public office, have been doing the right thing, and not breaking the law, and doing what they felt was best for the people of the State of Illinois,” said Pritzker.
Pritzker was at NIU Thursday to talk about increased higher education funding in his proposed Fiscal Year 2023 budget.
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