Boss Madigan crony, lobbyists, former ComEd execs indicted on corruption and bribery

Graphic courtesy of the 
Illinois Policy Institute

The feds are closing the ring on Boss Madigan, the man who destroyed Illinois.

From TriState Public Radio:

A longtime confidante of House Speaker Mike Madigan (D-Chicago) was charged along with two other former Commonwealth Edison lobbyists and the CEO of ComEd’s parent company in a nine-count indictment Wednesday, alleging the four conspired on a wide-ranging bribery scheme all designed to influence the powerful House Speaker.

Mike McClain, who spent decades lobbying for electric utility ComEd after serving in the legislature alongside Madigan in the 1970s, was named in all nine counts, as was former Exelon CEO Anne Pramaggiore, who stepped down from the company last fall amid a series of federal raids and subpoenas naming her and other ComEd officials as subjects of interests to the feds. Former ComEd lobbyists John Hooker and Jay Doherty were charged with six of the nine counts.

Ex-ComEd CEO Vice President Fidel Marquez is also listed in the indictment as helping to coordinate the bribery efforts. Marquez pleaded guilty to a corruption charge connected to the scheme in September.

The fifty-page indictment spans nine years of alleged wrongdoing by ComEd’s four representatives, shedding new light on actions first alleged in a deferred prosecution agreement against ComEd itself filed in July. Under the agreement, ComEd’s prosecution will be delayed for three years as the company cooperates in the investigation, and must pay a $200 million fine.

This Illinois Policy Institute documentary about Boss Madigan should me required viewing for Illinois high school students.