ComEd convictions could spur fresh efforts to tackle corruption in Springfield

[May 04, 2023]  By Brett Rowland | The Center Square

(The Center Square) – The former Commonwealth Edison executives and lobbyists convicted this week join a storied history of public corruption in Illinois, including four the state's last 10 governors.

Since 1976, the Northern District of Illinois has reported more public corruption convictions (1,792) than any other judicial district in the United States, according to Department of Justice statistics. The Northern District was followed by California's Central District (1,611) and New York's Southern District (1,369).

Of state's last 10 governors, four have been convicted or pleaded guilty – Rod Blagojevich in 2011, George Ryan in 2006, Daniel Walker in 1987 and Otto Kerner in 1973.

University of Illinois Chicago Professor Emeritus Dick Simpson said lawmakers in Chicago and Springfield have addressed ethics issues many times in the aftermath of high-profile public corruption cases.

Simpson said those efforts have often come up short.
 

"They're almost always inadequate," said Simpson, who has written more than 20 books on political action, ethics and politics.

"Illinois is even behind Chicago in its ethics laws and practices," Simpson said.

On Tuesday, after the latest convictions in the ComEd case, one juror said the panel was "tired of political corruption" in Illinois.

Politicians across the state spoke out after the verdict.

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot called the verdict "a victory for good government."

"Let's hope for all of our sake that the conviction of these defendants marks a new era across all of Illinois," she said in a statement.

State Rep. Jennifer Sanalitro, R-Bloomingdale, said secrecy hasn't served Springfield well.

"A culture of self-dealing was allowed to thrive in the environment of secrecy created by former leadership," she said.

Sanalitro pointed to a "new era where service to the public is more common than service to oneself."

Defendants in the ComEd 4 corruption trial listen as the federal jury reads its verdict. (Courtroom sketch courtesy of L.D.Chukman)

Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed ethics changes into law in 2019 and 2021. Simpson said he wouldn't be surprised to see additional legislative fixes proposed.

"I'd expect to see something in the special session in the fall," he said. "That conversation should be happening now."

A spokesperson for the governor didn't not respond to questions about what ethics legislation Pritzker would like to see in the coming legislative sessions.

In the ComEd case, prosecutors had alleged former state lawmaker and lobbyist Michael McClain, former ComEd CEO Anne Pramaggiore, former ComEd lobbyist John Hooker and former contract lobbyist Jay Doherty were involved in a multi-year scheme to gain Madigan’s support for legislation that would benefit the utility's bottom line. At trial, prosecutors presented secretly recorded videos, wiretapped phone calls and hundreds of emails to show how the four former ComEd executives and lobbyists were "the grandmasters of corruption." Prosecutors said that the utility paid out $1.3 million in jobs, contracts and payments to associates of Madigan over eight years in exchange for favorable treatment in Springfield.

ComEd, the state's largest utility, agreed to pay $200 million in July 2020 to resolve a criminal investigation into the years-long bribery scheme. As part of a deferred prosecution agreement, ComEd admitted it arranged jobs, vendor subcontracts and payments in a bid to influence Madigan.

Madigan served in the Illinois House from 1971 to 2021. He served as speaker of the Illinois House from 1983 to 1995 and again from 1997 to 2021. He wielded additional power as chairman of the Democratic Party of Illinois. Madigan resigned after losing the House speakership in January 2021.

He faces 23 counts of racketeering, bribery and official misconduct in a separate case that could go to trial in April 2024. He has pleaded "not guilty." McClain also has been charged in the case, which included similar allegations related to AT&T Illinois.

Brett Rowland is an award-winning journalist who has worked as an editor and reporter in newsrooms in Illinois and Wisconsin. He is an investigative reporter for The Center Square.