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 Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan is implicated in a
federal bribery case against Commonwealth Edison, alleging the utility won
Madigan’s favor to back legislation by directing $1.3 million in contracts and
payments to his associates and letting him name people for jobs, from meter
reader on up.
Madigan’s office July 17 received a grand jury subpoena for documents related to
the ongoing federal investigation, according to WGN. According to Mark Maxwell
of WCIA-TV, Capitol Police at the Illinois State Capitol in Springfield saw men
in suits enter the building Friday morning. One flashed an FBI badge.
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker called on Madigan to resign if the allegations are
true. Madigan said they aren’t true, and he is cooperating.
The deferred prosecution agreement with ComEd was released Friday and outlined
years of bribery involving “Public Official A,” who was later referred to as
Illinois’ House speaker. ComEd agreed to a $200 million fine and to admit
seeking Madigan’s help with legislation worth more than $150 million to the
company. Criminal charges will be dropped against the utility if it satisfies
the agreement. Madigan himself is not charged with bribery.
“Certain senior executives and agents of ComEd were also aware of the purpose of
these payments to Public Official A’s associates, namely, that they were
intended to influence and reward Public Official A in connection with Public
Official A’s official duties and to advance ComEd’s business interests,” the
agreement states.
Madigan has served as the speaker for all but two years since 1983, making him
the longest-serving state legislator in American history and one of the most
powerful. He is referred to as the “Velvet Hammer,” and learned politics and
patronage at the knee of former Chicago Mayor Richard J. Daley.
The agreement makes it appear ComEd became a deep-pocketed extension of
Madigan’s empire of political patronage, money and influence.
“ComEd arranged for various associates of Public Official A, including Public
Official A’s political allies and individuals who performed work for Public
Official A, to obtain jobs, vendor subcontracts, and monetary payments
associated with those jobs and subcontracts at ComEd, even in instances where
certain political allies and workers performed little or no work that they were
purportedly hired to perform at ComEd,” the filing states.
ComEd has agreed to “fully and truthfully cooperate.” They acknowledged to
authorities that Madigan helped them win legislative victories worth over $150
million.
According to the Sun-Times, the court filing is loaded with references to
Madigan’s power and influence. One of Madigan’s associates said, “We had to hire
these guys because (Madigan) came to us. It’s just that simple.” He even goes on
to say that Madigan named people to become employees at ComEd, but not just for
government affairs jobs. The speaker would even name employees to become meter
readers.
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Madigan’s office responded July 17 with a statement
denying wrongdoing, or that making job recommendations carried any
expectations of personal gain or currying favor. He said he was
cooperating with federal investigators.
“He will cooperate and respond to those requests
for documents, which he believes will clearly demonstrate that he
has done nothing criminal or improper,” the statement said.
In May 2019, federal agents raided the Quincy home of Madigan’s
close friend and confidant, former ComEd employee and former state
legislator Michael McClain. McClain was accused of setting up
$30,000 in payments through ComEd lobbyists to Kevin Quinn after he
was ousted as a Madigan political operative. Quinn was accused of
sexual harassment by campaign worker Alaina Hampton, who recently
settled with Madigan’s campaign for $275,000.
In September 2019, federal agents also raided the offices of former
state Sen. Martin Sandoval seeking information about his work with
Exelon and ComEd, including electricity rate increases.
Madigan previously maintained his innocence, saying “I’m not the
target of anything.” Then once again, agents subpoenaed suburban
Merrionette Park for documents relating to McClain, Quinn and others
along with Madigan.
Pritzker said Madigan should resign if the allegations are true. He
called on Madigan to cooperate with the federal investigation.
“The speaker has a lot that he needs to answer for – to authorities,
to investigators and most importantly to the people of Illinois. If
these allegations of wrongdoing by the speaker are true, there is no
question that he will have betrayed the public trust and he must
resign,” Pritzker said.
“When I think about the possibility of people committing these kinds
of wrongdoings, I think people who are in public service need to
live up to the integrity of the job they were asked to do,” said
Pritzker, who faces his own federal corruption probe.
Federal prosecutors since January requested records from the Cook
County assessor’s office regarding the $330,000 property tax break
that Pritzker got by removing toilets from a Gold Coast mansion, the
Chicago Sun-Times reported. Word of the federal probe first emerged
in April 2019.
As the feds close in, Illinois state lawmakers should be asking
themselves how much more embarrassment and imprisonment the state
needs before enacting ethics reforms. When Republicans called on
Madigan to push those changes, he made it clear on July 15 he wasn’t
interested and that the problem wasn’t in Springfield.
“I would suggest that the Illinois Republicans who want to pursue
ethics reform go out to Washington, follow up on President Trump’s
promise to drain the swamp,” Madigan said.
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