Chicago City Wire

David Krupa said that Mike Madigan's resignation shows the Chicago Democrat cares more about amassing power than the people who elected him to public office for 50 years.

"I think he's resigning is because he's no longer the Speaker of the House, and to me, that says his whole career has been about how much power he could consolidate for himself," the Republican Ward 13 committeeman told Chicago City Wire. "The fact that he would be doing this now, in the middle of his term, shows he has no sense of duty to the people that elected him."

After almost four decades of running the House, Madigan resigned from his District 22 seat.

Madigan's resignation comes a month after lawmakers replaced him as the House speaker. Nearly two dozen members of his party opted not to support his reelection efforts.

Lawmakers tapped Emanuel "Chris" Welch (D-Hillside) to serve as the House speaker.

On Feb. 22, Madigan also resigned from the chair's position for the Illinois Democratic Party.

The former Democratic representative serving Chicago is linked to a federal Department of Justice corruption investigation that also involves ComEd. The utility giant was fined $200 million, but it is not an admission of guilt. Federal authorities have not charged Madigan, and he denies any wrongdoing.

Krupa said he's hopeful Madigan's departure will be the start to bringing about the kinds of changes he feels are needed in Springfield.

"I'm hoping Democratic lawmakers can now start to feel a bit more autonomous in the decisions they make and about doing the right thing by the people," he said.

Krupa said it remains to be seen how much of an active role Madigan may still seek behind the scenes.