Former ComEd CEO testifies he was not aware of handshake deal with Madigan

[April 14, 2023]  By Glenn Minnis | The Center Square contributor

(The Center Square) – Former ComEd CEO Joseph Dominguez told jurors in the “ComEd Four” federal corruption trial on Thursday that top utility officials often struggled to get a clear read on one-time House Speaker Mike Madigan, adding that he never got the sense they had any sort of secret handshake deal with arguably the state’s most powerful lawmaker.

“I thought they were all tough,” Dominguez said of trying to get legislation passed in Springfield under rapid-fire questioning by attorneys for Anne Pramaggiore, the individual he succeeded as CEO and one of the four individuals now on trial in an alleged pay-for-play scheme where contracts, jobs and payments were steered to Madigan associates in exchange for his favorable position on legislation pushed by the utility.

“It wasn’t just the speaker’s office,” he added. “It was the governor’s office. It was hard.”

Charged along with Pramaggiore are former lobbyist and Madigan confidante Michael McClain, retired ComEd executive John Hooker and one-time ComEd consultant and ex-City Club of Chicago president Jay Doherty.

Madigan and McClain are also set to go to trial sometime in the spring of 2024 in a separate case where Madigan faces a 23-count indictment that includes racketeering, bribery and official misconduct charges. The four currently on trial have all pleaded not guilty, with their attorneys arguing all the actions they took were legal lobbying tactics.

Now CEO of Constellation Energy Group, Dominguez said during his hours testimony that there were times he felt Madigan even “stepped over line” in making things hard for ComEd, such as when he got into a major battle with one of his top negotiators after growing impatient in the midst of a brokering session.

“I worked on this for three years of my life,” he told the court of legislation aimed at saving two nuclear power plants run by Exelon. “I woke up every morning with a different feeling on whether this would pass or wouldn’t pass.”

In the end, Dominguez said the legislation moved forward on the strength of compromise, and not because Madigan was indebted to ComEd or Exelon.

Later in the day, Pramaggiore was expected to take the stand on her own behalf. Earlier this week, attorneys for the 64-year-old former top executive told the court her testimony will likely begin Thursday and potentially run into next week. Attorneys for the three other defendants told the judge their clients were still debating if they will take the stand.

Prior to jurors taking their seats in the courtroom on Thursday, prosecutors revealed for the first time that Pramaggiore engaged in a “proffer” session with the U.S. attorney’s office in late 2019, with FBI agents ultimately producing a 33-page report from her statements.

Proffer sessions are generally viewed as a first-step in ongoing cooperation talks, including potentially entering a guilty plea. The judge later ruled that if Pramaggiore’s testimony in his courtroom fails to match up with that outlined in her proffer, prosecutors will be within their rights to move to impeach her with the FBI report.