West Cook News

Illinois House Speaker Chris Welch (D-Hillside) passed as the man who disbanded a state committee that was investigating now-indicted Michael Madigan after Welch's office sent out a set of controversial talking points defending the former speaker. 

Welch was accused of protecting Madigan in 2020 after shutting down the committee probing the ComEd bribery scandal.

"As the former chair of the special investigation committee, I said all along during the course of that process that I thought that there was a more appropriate forum to deal with the things that we had been hearing in the public domain," Welch said in the wake of the indictment. "And I thought that forum was the United States Attorney's office.” 

He further explained that the U.S. Attorney’s Office has all the resources that it needs to conduct an investigation. 

"I knew that all along and we said that it was proper for United States Attorney John Lausch to be the one to conduct an investigation, not a legislative committee," Welch added. "And what we have learned today was that indeed they did their job, and they have brought an indictment of our former speaker."

The House Speaker's office released a memo stating talking points in favor of his predecessor but has, later on, retracted the same. It fed the Democrats to say "While I always stand with law enforcement, I unfortunately feel I must call into question certain aspects of the investigation process regarding Speaker Madigan’s case. From the start, he has faced unfair, partisan accusations; charges which appear to have influenced the indictments laid out today."  

"You’re going through excruciating lengths to protect Michael J. Madigan from ever having to testify to his nefarious behavior," Rep. Grant Wehrli (R-Naperville) said at the time.

Several investigation papers documented the involvement of Madigan in a $150 million bribery scandal.

In a statement, Madigan said he was "never involved in any criminal activity" in his 50 years in office. Madigan, who spent 36 years as House Speaker, the longest in the country’s history, is accused of using the office for personal gain. "I adamantly deny these accusations and look back proudly on my time as an elected official, serving the people of Illinois," Madigan added.

Welch, who was Madigan’s handpicked successor, has only faced opposition in the 7th District in his first run in 2012 and in 2016.