Prosecutors say no reason for new trial in ComEd Four case

[October 17, 2024]  By Brett Rowland | The Center Square

(The Center Square) – Federal prosecutors said the four former lobbyists and utility executives convicted in the ComEd Four trial last year don't need a new trial after the U.S. Supreme Court narrowed the federal bribery statute.

Defense attorneys for the four former Commonwealth Edison executives and lobbyists convicted of bribing one of the state's most powerful politicians had asked a judge for a new trial.

The four defendants, who have not be sentenced, had asked Judge Manish Shah to dismiss the indictment against them and issue an acquittal after a U.S. Supreme Court ruling on the federal bribery statute. Shah has yet to rule on the request.

Prosecutors said in a response that the defense didn't file the motion in a timely manner and the no relief should be granted. Prosecutors said that even if the timing of the motion didn't matter, the defendants still shouldn't get a new trial and any errors in jury instruction were harmless.

The Supreme Court ruled the federal bribery statute does not make it a crime for public officials to accept gratuities – payments or rewards made after an official act, rather than before the official act. Prosecutors said they never pursued a gratuity theory and relied on bribery throughout the case.

"Evidence made it clear that the jury convicted on the bribery theory the government presented," prosecutors wrote. "First, the benefits provided to Madigan subcontractors and others were made continuously over a period of approximately eight years. No rational jury would have concluded that a stream of benefits over eight years that far exceeded $1 million (that also had to be justified for renewal often on an annual basis) was simply a thank you for past action, particularly when the jury heard from each defendant about the reason why they needed to continue making the payments going forward. The payments were explained as necessary to ensure ComEd continued to get the legislation it needed. This continuous stream of high-value benefits over a long period of time provided powerful evidence of an intent to influence Madigan."

In May 2023, an Illinois jury convicted former state lawmaker and lobbyist Michael McClain, former ComEd CEO Anne Pramaggiore, former ComEd lobbyist John Hooker and former contract lobbyist Jay Doherty. The case involved a conspiracy to bribe former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan with $1.3 million in no-show jobs, contracts and payments to associates in exchange for support with legislation that would benefit the utility's bottom line.

Madigan served in the Illinois House from 1971 to 2021, as speaker from 1983 to 1995 and again from 1997 to 2021. That made him one of the state's most powerful politicians, especially given his role as head of the Democratic party in the state.

Jury selection is under way in a separate trial where Madigan faces 23 counts of racketeering, bribery, and official misconduct. Madigan has pleaded not guilty.