The Illinois General Assembly voted for a decade to eliminate annual cost-of-living adjustments for lawmaker salaries after the Great Recession. Now, former state lawmakers are suing the state to put that money right back into politicians’ pockets.

The House Rules allowed Madigan to accumulate unprecedented power in the Illinois speaker’s office and helped enable a culture of corruption in Springfield. With Madigan out, reformers have a shot at changing the House Rules.

The lawyers who over 50 years ago started the fight against political patronage in Springfield and Chicago are arguing Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s administration is not ready to lose federal oversight of hiring. Efforts to hide hiring records prove that point, they said.

After decades under Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan’s rule, Illinois is corroding from his concentration of power. Robust ethics laws, rules and norms could stop a new Madigan from rising.