Madigan himself has not been charged and prosecutors did not identify him by name. ComEd has agreed to pay $200 million restitution.
By J. Ryne Danielson, Patch Staff
Jul 17, 2020 10:28 am CT|Updated Jul 17, 2020 1:34 pm CT
ILLINOIS — Commonwealth Edison, Illinois’ largest electric company, bribed House Speaker Michael Madigan with lucrative jobs, contracts and monetary payments, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois. Prosecutors charged ComEd with one count of bribery Friday, but say they will defer prosecution and eventually dismiss the charge if the company cooperates with ongoing investigations of other “individuals or entities” involved.
ComEd has agreed to pay $200 million restitution for their part in the alleged bribery scheme, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office.
Madigan, 78, has not been charged and prosecutors did not identify him by name. Court documents refer to “Public Official A,” but prosecutors make clear that “Public Official A was the Speaker of the House of Representatives and an elected member of that body.” The Chicago Democrat has been speaker since 1983, with only a two-year break when Republicans took control between 1995 and 1997, leaving little doubt who prosecutors are talking about.
Prosecutors say the company admitted to influencing and rewarding Madigan, beginning in 2011 and continuing through 2019, arranging jobs for political allies that included little or no work, appointing an individual to ComEd’s board at Madigan’s request, steering company contracts to a law firm associated with Madigan, and even granting internships to students from Madigan’s ward in Chicago.
In exchange, Madigan passed legislation that favored ComEd — for example, looser regulations that allowed them to charge customers more — and opposed legislation that would have hurt the company’s bottom line, prosecutors said.
In February 2019, prosecutors allege an associate of Madigan, identified as “Individual A,” advised ComEd’s vice president in reference to the alleged scheme, “I would say to you don’t put anything in writing,” explaining, “all it can do is hurt ya.”Subscribe
Individual A is described as a former Illinois representative turned ComEd lobbyist.
“We had to hire these guys because (Madigan) came to us,” Individual A told another ComEd lobbyist later that month, according to prosecutors.
Also in February 2019, a consultant with a company hired by ComEd at Madigan’s behest “cautioned (ComEd’s vice president for legislative affairs) that ComEd should not tamper with the arrangement because ‘your money comes from Springfield,'” according to prosecutors.
Madigan’s associates “keep their mouth shut,” the consultant warned, explaining a series of payments were made to “keep (Madigan) happy,” prosecutors said.
“I think it’s worth it, because you’d hear otherwise,” the consultant added.
The ComEd lobbyist identified as Individual A explained during a company meeting how Madigan would name individuals to be ComEd employees as part of an “old-fashioned patronage system,” prosecutors said.
According to the charges, “Indirect payments made to (Madigan’s) associates — who performed little or no work for ComEd — totaled approximately $1,324,500.”
For example, in 2016, ComEd sought to change an agreement with a law firm tied to Madigan, prosecutors said. The firm had been retained for 850 hours of work per year, but there wasn’t enough work to fill the contract.
“I am sure you know how valuable (Lawyer A) is to our Friend (Madigan),” the ComEd lobbyist wrote to the company’s CEO in January of that year, according to prosecutors. “I know the drill and so do you. If you do not get involve (sic) and resolve this issue of 850 hours for his law firm per year then he will go to our friend (Madigan). Our Friend (Madigan) will call me and then I will call you. Is this a drill we must go through?”
ComEd’s CEO responded: “Sorry. No one informed me. I am on this.”
Illinois Republicans quickly issued a statement on the allegations.
“The people of Illinois now live in a state where both the Speaker of the House and the Governor are under criminal investigation,” party chairman Tim Schneider said. “Even for a state with a history of corruption, this is unprecedented. Crimes of bribery and tax fraud cannot be tolerated from our elected officials. As we learn more about the bribery investigation into Speaker Madigan and the property tax fraud investigation into Governor Pritzker, our hearts go out to the people of Illinois who are once again left yearning for elected leaders who work for them, not for themselves. The Democratic culture of corruption in Illinois must come to an end.”
The house speaker’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
U.S. Attorney John R. Lausch held a news conference outside the Dirksen Federal Building Friday afternoon.
“This agreement, including and specifically ComEd’s statement of facts, it speaks for itself,” he said. “But it also speaks volumes about the very stubborn public corruption problem we have here in Illinois.”
He asked anyone with information that could be helpful to the investigation to call the FBI at 312-421-6700.
Speaking at the same news conference, Emmerson Buie, special agent-in-charge of the FBI’s Chicago office, said public corruption remains one of the law enforcement agency’s highest criminal priorities.
“(Today’s) events demonstrate how far the reach of corruption can go,” he said. “If left unchecked, it doesn’t just affect areas most people associated with corruption, but can infiltrate businesses and corporations and trickle down to the customers those corporations serve.”
Kathy Enstrom, special agent-in-charge of the IRS criminal investigation division in Chicago, accused ComEd of undermining the “free trade, competition and fairness” our country’s economic system is based on.
“When one company decides to play by their own set of rules and circumvent the laws of the country, it upsets the bounds of fairness, and must be checked before corruption becomes the accepted law of the land,” she said at the news conference.
Lausch said prosecutors declined to identify Madigan by name because he has not been charged, adding that “our investigation is ongoing, it’s vibrant, and it will continue.”
He also did not rule out charges for ComEd executives who participated in the alleged scheme.
“This agreement is with only ComEd,” Lausch said. “It doesn’t resolve any liability one way or the other for any other entity or any other individual.”
ComEd, which serves about 70 percent of Illinois households, made more than $150 million from its arrangement with Madigan, prosecutors allege. That money largely came from consumers in the form of higher utility prices.
In addition to cooperating with the investigation and paying restitution, ComEd will review its internal policies and procedures as part of its deal with prosecutors.
“ComEd will develop and promulgate a clearly articulated and visible corporate policy against violations of U.S. law,” the company agreed.
Read the charging documents:
