Macon Reporter

State Rep. Brad Halbrook (R-Shelbyville) is steamed over the findings in a new WBEZ report that details how hand-and-hand Democrat Gov. J.B. Pritzker has worked with House Speaker Mike Madigan (D-Chicago) over his first 18 months in office.

“You read between the lines and it tells you corruption is obviously alive and well in Springfield and Mike Madigan is still the king when it comes to calling all the shots,” Halbrook told the Macon Reporter. “The governor can talk about his independence all he wants, but this tells the story.”

In all, Pritzker is reported to have made at least 35 hires from a so-called “clout list” compiled by and presented to him by Madigan.

Halbrook said no one should be surprised.

“Nothing happens in Springfield without Madigan’s knowledge and approval,” he said. “The only way to change that is by changing the people.”

And even then, Halbrook concedes it’s a process.  

“It took a generation or so to get to this point and it’ll take time to turn things around,” he said. “When you will have a fourth of the state legislature coming from the same Cook County area, it’s going to take time for other voices to really be heard.”

Halbrook has recently emerged as one of the governor’s biggest critics, blasting him for his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic that  led to him essentially shutting down the state’s small business industry for weeks on end.

“Just about every part of the state should be at the next phase of the governor’s reopening plan by now because they’ve met all the requirements he initially laid out for that,” he previously told the Macon Reporter. “Many areas are in even a better place. All along he’s talked about science being the guiding light. Now it all seems to be just about politics and that’s really disappointing.”