|
State Rep. Abdelnasser Rashid’s, D-Bridgeview, measure has the
support of the Citizens Utility Board and its director of
Governmental Affairs, Bryan McDaniel.
“This would make it so that utilities, water, gas, sewer, could
not make any campaign contributions to a candidate for municipal
or state office,” McDaniel told The Center Square.
The bill would also prevent donations to political action
committees organized to support candidates. The measure has
three co-sponsors.
“So this would be HB 1621. I can tell you that’d be wonderful if
that bill could pass. We’ll see,” McDaniel said.
ComEd and other utilities have drawn the attention of federal
authorities in recent corruption cases, including the trial and
conviction of former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan.
On Feb. 12, a jury convicted Madigan on 10 counts of bribery,
conspiracy, wire fraud and use of a facility to promote unlawful
activity. Four of the 10 counts were related to ComEd.
Madigan is scheduled to be sentenced on June 13. U.S. government
attorneys are also seeking $3.14 million from the former speaker
in forfeiture at a bench trial. The amount includes payments to
ComEd subcontractors who were Madigan’s political allies.
Prosecutors say the payments were bribes.
In the related ComEd Four case, four people were convicted of
corruption charges in 2023, and ComEd agreed to pay $200 million
in fines as part of a deferred prosecution agreement.
Sentencing dates for the ComEd four defendants are scheduled in
July and August.
Connie Mixon, professor of political science and director of the
Urban Studies Program at Elmhurst University, said the
corruption cases are frustrating to her as a political scientist
and to people who care about good government.
“There are legislative things that could be done to curtail some
of this corruption, and yet our General Assembly doesn’t seem
interested or doesn’t feel any urgency in pushing through
legislative reforms,” Mixon told The Center Square.
Rashid’s bill is currently in the Illinois House Rules
Committee.
|
|
