SE Illinois News

Republican state House candidate Lisa Ciampoli is challenging 112th District incumbent Rep. Katie Stuart (D-Edwardsville) to make the same pledge she has when it comes to troubled House Speaker Mike Madigan.

“I signed a pledge vowing not to vote for Mike Madigan as Speaker of the House,” Ciampoli said. “His corruption and pay-to-play politics have done enough damage to our state. Enough is enough. Will my opponent sign the pledge as well?”

With Madigan now under investigation in an ongoing federal probe involving utility giant ComEd, Ciampoli has long been willing to render at least one verdict.

“All legislators well know nothing will happen with ethics reforms until Mike Madigan is out of power,” she added. “It’s time for new leadership, and that begins with a new state representative.”

In the meantime, Ciampoli is also calling on Stuart to return the “hundreds of thousands” of dollars she has received from Madigan over time in campaign contributions.

“Democrats attempt to ignore the elephant in the room – Mike Madigan,” she added. “My opponent continues to remain silent on the Madigan allegations.”

Ciampoli also recently took Gov. J.B. Pritzker to task over the progressive tax proposal he has proposed that will be on the Nov. 3 ballot in the form of a constitutional amendment.

“As a fiscal conservative, I oppose the tax hike amendment that would give more money and power to Springfield politicians like Speaker Mike Madigan," Ciampoli said. “On the county board, I worked to keep taxes low, while Chicago Democrats in Springfield were working to hike taxes over and over.”

Ciampoli has long been an opponent of the progressive tax proposal that Pritzker continues to sell as just a tax on the state’s most affluent residents. To pass, the measure requires approval from 60% of those who vote on the issue or a majority of those who vote in the election overall.