A burgeoning utility bribery scandal in Chicago has tainted Exelon subsidiary Commonwealth Edison and threatens to topple the most powerful Democratic politician in Illinois, House Speaker Michael Madigan. Exelon has agreed to pay a $200 million fine as part of a plea deal filed with the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, a “deferred prosecution agreement,” in the case, acknowledging the charges and agreeing to cooperate with the federal government.
In the charging document, the U.S. Attorney Jonathan R. Lausch Jr. said the government found that ComEd was bribing “Public Official A” the “Speaker of the House of Representatives” from 2011 to 2019 with “jobs, vendor subcontracts, and monetary payments associated with those jobs and subcontracts,” to benefit Madigan and associates. The government alleges ComEd paid some $1.3 million in bribes, which resulted in some $150 million in benefits to the Chicago monopoly utility.
Lausch said, “In many ways this agreement, including and specifically ComEd’s statement of facts, should speak for itself. But it also speaks volumes about the nature of a very stubborn public corruption problem we have here in Illinois.”
In a public statement, Exelon CEO Christopher Crane said, “We are committed to maintaining the highest standards of integrity and ethical behavior. In the past, some of ComEd’s lobbying practices and interactions with public officials did not live up to that commitment. When we learned about the inappropriate conduct, we acted swiftly to investigate. We concluded from the investigation that a small number of senior ComEd employees and outside contractors orchestrated this misconduct, and they no longer work for the company.”
Madigan has denied the charges. He said in a written statement that he had received subpoenas for documents, including job recommendations. He said those papers will “will clearly demonstrate that he has done nothing criminal or improper.” The statement said, “The Speaker has never helped someone find a job with the expectation that the person would not be asked to perform work by their employer, nor did he ever expect to provide anything to a prospective employer if it should choose to hire a person he recommended. He has never made a legislative decision with improper motives and has engaged in no wrongdoing here. Any claim to the contrary is unfounded.”
Madigan, 78, who is also the chairman of the Illinois Democratic Party, has long been a major political power broker in the state. He has served as the house speaker for 37 years, and has won the nickname “The Velvet Hammer” for his ability to dispatch enemies without leaving any blood on the floor.
His reach into the Michigan government is deep. His adopted daughter Lisa Madigan was Michigan’s attorney general from 2003 to 2019. She was a crusading politician, often clashing with ComEd and Exelon.
The chair of Illinois Commerce Commission, the state’s investor-owned utility regulator, Carrie Zalewski, is Madigan’s daughter-in-law, the Chicago Tribune reported. The newspaper said that “it is requesting ComEd appear before the commission to discuss ethics reforms later this month. In touting the agency’s commitment to transparency and accountability, the announcement did not mention its chairwoman’s connection to one of the alleged players cited in the deferred prosecution agreement.”
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker has said Madigan must resign if the charges are true (which they appear to be, as the utility has agreed to them). The Associated Press reported that Pritzker said during a stop in Chicago, “The speaker has a lot that he needs to answer for, to authorities, to investigators, and most importantly, to the people of Illinois. If these allegations of wrongdoing by the speaker are true, there is no question that he will have betrayed the public trust and he must resign.”
The Chicago Sun Times editorialized, “For the sake of Illinois and the important public policies that he himself has fought for, Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan should consider stepping down….It’s a wonder – and a shame – that ComEd has only been fined — $200 million – and nobody as of now will be going to prison.”
— Kennedy Maize