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 State Rep. Emanuel Chris Welch, D-Hillside, chairman of the
special investigative committee tasked with reviewing Speaker Mike Madigan’s
role in the ComEd scandal, announced Friday that the committee was requesting
the testimonies of ComEd executives, lobbyists and Madigan himself.
Welch sent letters requesting “Madigan, Michael McClain, Anna Pramaggiore, Fidel
Marquez, John Hooker, Jay D. Doherty, Michael R. Zalewski and ComEd” to appear
before the committee at the next hearing, scheduled for Sept. 29. The requests
do not include subpoenas, meaning the committee is requesting their voluntary
cooperation.
The bipartisan Illinois House committee began hearings Sept. 10 to investigate
whether Madigan was involved in behavior unbecoming of a state lawmaker after he
was implicated in federal bribery charges filed against ComEd in July.
In July, federal prosecutors announced ComEd had been charged with a years-long
bribery scheme that sought to “influence and reward” Madigan between 2011 and
2019 by arranging for $1.3 million in jobs, contracts and payments to his
political cronies. Subpoenas were served seeking information as to Madigan’s
involvement with similar schemes involving AT&T and others.
Madigan was not charged as part of the case, but was identified in court
documents as “Public Official A.” As part of the deal, ComEd agreed to pay a
$200 million fine, admit to seeking Madigan’s help in passing legislation worth
more than $150 million to the company and continue to cooperate with the ongoing
federal investigation into public corruption.
Madigan responded to the probe by calling the committee a political stunt and
denied any wrongdoing.
Among the requested witnesses is ComEd’s former vice president of governmental
affairs, Fidel Marquez – charged with bribery conspiracy Sept. 4. The charges
allege he orchestrated the scheme to pay Madigan allies in exchange for the
speaker’s support in Springfield. Charges via criminal information – as opposed
to a grand jury indictment – indicate that Marquez is likely to plead guilty.
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Long-time Madigan confidant and former ComEd
lobbyist Michael McClain is also included among the witnesses.
McClain had his house raided by federal authorities in May 2019, and
was identified as “Individual A” in ComEd’s deferred prosecution
agreement, alleged that McClain in conjunction with Madigan had
“sought to obtain from ComEd jobs, vendor subcontracts, and monetary
payments associated with those jobs and subcontracts” for Madigan’s
associates.
Former Chicago Ald. Michael R. Zalewski, also asked
to testify, is believed to be “Associate 3” identified in the
charges against ComEd and to have played a prominent role in the
charges. Associate 3 was given a subcontract from ComEd for $5,000 a
month immediately after retiring from the City Council in May 2018.
Zalewski’s home was raided by federal agents in July 2019.
Anna Pramaggiore is the former CEO of ComEd. In 2018, she was
promoted to CEO of Exelon Utilities, which oversees ComEd and five
other gas and electric utility companies. She resigned from her
position in October 2019 amid the federal probe.
Jay Doherty, former City Club of Chicago president and ComEd
lobbyist, was also asked to appear alongside John Hooker, former
ComEd executive turned lobbyist. While not charged with a crime,
Hooker was implicated in the ComEd scandal, allegedly assisting
McClain in directing contracts to Madigan associates.
State lawmakers from both parties and Democrats from across the
state have called for Madigan to immediately resign his positions as
House speaker and chairman of the Democratic Party of Illinois.
Others, such as Pritzker, have made a milder call for him to resign
if the allegations are true.
The Madigan corruption probe has complicated Pritzker’s appeal to
voters for his “fair tax” on the Nov. 3 ballot. Madigan is the fifth
key backer of a progressive tax to face corruption probes as voters
are being asked to trust lawmakers with greater power to impose new
taxes on retirees and tax hikes of up to 47% on over 100,000 small
businesses that create most Illinois jobs.
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