ComEd 4 trial prosecutors: Bribery scheme resulted in lucrative
legislation for utility
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[March 16, 2023]
By Glenn Minnis | The Center Square contributor
(The Center Square) – Prosecutors in the long-awaited “ComEd Four” trial
on Wednesday told jurors that the four defendants participated in a
scheme to bribe longtime former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan
in order to gain his support for legislation favorable to the utility.
In their counter opening argument, defense attorneys said the scheme
"overzealous" prosecutors allege was not a conspiracy and nothing more
than the defendants doing their job.
Assistant U.S. District Attorney Sarah Streicker first took to the
podium for opening arguments, telling the recently impaneled pool of 12
jurors and six alternates that the case centered on bribes steered to
Madigan, one of the state’s longest-serving lawmakers and most powerful
politicians, in a scheme aimed at influencing his decision-making on
issues deemed to be crucial to the utility giant’s bottom line.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2015/May/02/images/ads/current/guzzardo_lda022609.png)
Representing defendant Michael McClain, attorney Patrick Cotter
countered that “overzealous” investigators bent on bringing down Madigan
got it “terribly, tragically wrong.”
Cotter argued, “It’s not a conspiracy, and you know what? It’s not even
suspicious. It’s a profession.”
Streicker told the court that ComEd steered upwards of $1.3 million in
payments, contracts and perks to ghost “subcontractors” who were
actually Madigan’s close allies. As another part of the alleged scheme,
prosecutors assert a Madigan-backed person was placed on ComEd's board
of directors and much sought after internships were routinely given to
families in his 13th Ward.
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Then Illinois House Speaker Michael
Madigan speaks at a press conference on Monday, April 23, 2018. -
Image courtesy of BlueRoomStream
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2023/Mar/16/images/ads/current/peasleymemorials_lda_2022.png)
“Mike Madigan was the most powerful person in the Illinois General
Assembly,” Streicker argued. “He [could] wield that power to make or
break a piece of legislation.”
Streicker pointed to instances where Madigan helped ComEd win three
pieces of legislation that proved to be lucrative for the utility,
including the “Smart Grid” bill in 2011 and another bill in 2016 that
held a rate structure in place and extended the life of two of the
company’s nuclear plants through bailouts.
McClain, a longtime close friend and associate of Madigan, is now on
trial with former ComEd CEO Anne Pramaggiore, ex-ComEd lobbyist John
Hooker and Jay Doherty, a lobbyist and consultant who formerly led the
City Club of Chicago. All four have pleaded not guilty to charges of
bribery conspiracy, with Cotter going on offense on Day 1 on behalf of
his client, who he described as one of the finest lobbyists in the
state.
“Mike lived the General Assembly,” Cotter told the court, adding that he
and Madigan became friends nearly 50 years ago. “He lived Springfield.
It was his life. He got to know everybody and everybody got to know him.
... He was absolutely committed to his clients’ best interest.”
Later, Pramaggiore’s attorney Scott Lassar said his client was a
“wonderful woman,” a “Girl Scout” who rescued ComEd from tumultuous
times. He added that she “knew that Mike Madigan was only concerned with
one thing, and that was staying in power, staying speaker of the House.”
Madigan himself faces more than 20 counts of corruption-related charges
but is not scheduled to go to trial until 2024. He also has pleaded not
guilty. |