ComEd VP testimony: Utility executives regularly praised Madigan as ally

[March 24, 2023]  By Glenn Minnis | The Center Square contributor

(The Center Square) – In the midst of registering one legislative win after another in Springfield, top ComEd officials came to feel there was no mountain they couldn’t scale, as long as they had grizzled House Speaker Mike Madigan by their side.

Such sentiments came from current ComEd Vice President of External Affairs Keisha Parker after she took the stand Thursday during the seventh day of testimony in the so-called “ComEd 4” trial at the Dirksen Federal Courthouse in Chicago.

Parker testified before jurors in the courtroom of U.S. District Judge Harry Leinenweber how she recalled senior staffers at the utility giant regularly made it a habit of singing the praises of Madigan and doing all they could to keep him happy. At one point in the fall of 2012, they worked hand in hand with longtime Madigan confidante Mike McClain to host a fundraiser for the state’s most powerful Democrat where the goal was to raise $125,000 for his political war chest.
 

McClain and fellow former ComEd lobbyist John Hooker are now on trial in a sweeping corruption case where they, along with former ComEd CEO Anne Pramaggiore and one-time City Club of Chicago chief Jay Doherty, are accused of being central figures in an ongoing pay-for-play scheme that doled out contracts and jobs to Madigan and his associates in exchange for his favorable position on legislation beneficial to the company’s bottom line.

Former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan
Image courtesy of BlueRoomStream

Madigan is slated to go on trial in early 2024 on a slew of corruption-related charges that include the alleged bribery plot with ComEd. Madigan and the four defendants in the ongoing "ComEd 4" trial have all pleaded not guilty.

Parker recalled how the company's executives turned out for Madigan’s bash, including Pramaggiore, who wrote a draft speech for the occasion that said Madigan was “an asset to Illinois and all of us in this room.”

Prosecutors highlighted that the event took place just months after ComEd’s “smart grid” legislation sailed through the legislature. The indictment further alleges that the utility giant doled out upwards of $1.3 million in payments that were steered to associates of Madigan, placed another Madigan associate on the ComEd board, and regularly handed out coveted internships to families in his 13th Ward.

In another part of her testimony, Parker shared with jurors how in 2014 she was entrusted with adding Edward Moody, a top Madigan precinct captain, to Doherty’s consulting contract with ComEd. She recalled the move being made despite the fact there was no money remaining in the company’s consulting budget.

With the funds coming from Pramaggiore’s budget, she said Moody was ultimately installed as a subcontractor at a rate of $4,500 a month. Moody lasted in the position for several years, even though Parker said she can’t recall him ever actually having to do much work for the company.