BGA Investigation into Rebuild Illinois projects reveals deep ties to former House Speaker Madigan

CHICAGO (WLS) -- A deeper look at the Rebuild Illinois plan that reveals projects tied to then-House Speaker Michael Madigan were pushed to the front of the list.

As the federal corruption investigation was gearing up that would eventually force the resignation of longtime House Speaker Michael J. Madigan, the powerful politician who sat atop Illinois politics for nearly 50 years was helping to shepherd the state's largest-ever infrastructure bill, worth $45 billion, through the Legislature he controlled.

The Better Government Association dug into public records and found that $4 billion in pet projects was quietly slipped into the measure as "leadership additions," pork-barrel projects that power brokers have traditionally used to get around state bureaucracy and get unvetted projects completed back home.