SIULAW Prof. Sheila Simon calls for ethical governing in this interview with local ABC affiliate, WSIL TV3

(WSIL) -- Former Illinois Lieutenant Governor Sheila Simon says she's glad Mike Madigan is no longer a fixture of Illinois Politics.

Simon says she was pleased to hear the news and urged people to put values in ethical government ahead of party alliances.

She said Madigan's alleged connections to people charged with federal crimes made it hard to get work done in the legislature.

Simon recalled an interaction with Madigan after she had worked to revise described her most memorable interaction with Madigan after the former speaker was after she tried to push legislation tackling potential conflicts of interest.

"It passed the senate, I think almost unanimously, I think there was one vote against it in the senate. And in the house we were told by the leadership, 'yes we'll be working on that,' and 'we'll be getting it to a committee,' and I think what I learned was that I could not rely on the speaker and his staff to actually do that, because in the end it went nowhere, which is what happened to, I think a lot of good bills, under his leadership."

Simon says she's optimistic for new house speaker Chris Welch, who has made frequent trips to southern Illinois, and is a big advocate for education.

Watch the video here.