4 Former Commonwealth Edison Executives and Associates Found Guilty of Conspiring To Influence and Reward Former Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan #ComEd4 #Corruption #TheChicagoWay

A federal jury has found four former Commonwealth Edison (“ComEd”) executives and associates guilty on all counts charged, including conspiring to influence and reward Mike Madigan, the former Speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives, in order to assist with the passage of legislation favorable to the electric utility company, in addition to multiple bribery and record falsification charges.

The jury found the following defendants guilty of all charges:

• MICHAEL McCLAIN, 75, of Quincy, who worked as a lobbyist and consultant for ComEd after serving in the Illinois House of Representatives in the 1970s and early 1980s.
• ANNE PRAMAGGIORE, 64, of Barrington, who served as CEO of ComEd from 2012 to 2018, and later served as a senior executive at an affiliate of Exelon Corp., of which ComEd was a subsidiary.
• JOHN HOOKER, 74, of Chicago, who served as ComEd’s executive vice president of legislative and external affairs from 2009 to 2012, after which he worked as an external lobbyist for ComEd.
• JAY DOHERTY, 69, of Chicago, who owned Jay D. Doherty & Associates, which performed consulting services for ComEd from approximately 2011 to 2019.

Sentencing dates have not been set. 

• Count 1, charging the conspiracy, has a possible punishment of up to five years in federal prison and a maximum fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense. 
• Counts 2, 5, 6, and 8, charging bribery, have a possible sentence of up to 10 years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense. 
• Counts 3, 4, 7, and 9, charging record falsification, have a possible punishment of up to 20 years in federal prison, a fine of $5,000,000, or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense.

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The House That Madigan Built: The Record Run of Illinois' Velvet Hammer

Michael Madigan rose from the Chicago machine to hold unprecedented power as Speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives. In his thirty-six years wielding the gavel, Madigan outlasted governors, passed or blocked legislation at will, and outmaneuvered virtually every attempt to limit his reach.

Veteran reporter Ray Long draws on four decades of observing state government to provide the definitive political analysis of Michael Madigan. Secretive, intimidating, shrewd, power-hungry--Madigan mesmerized his admirers and often left his opponents too beaten down to oppose him. Long vividly recreates the battles that defined the Madigan era, from stunning James Thompson with a lightning-strike tax increase, to pressing for a pension overhaul that ultimately failed in the courts, to steering the House toward the Rod Blagojevich impeachment.

Long also shines a light on the machinery that kept the Speaker in power. Head of a patronage army, Madigan ruthlessly used his influence and fundraising prowess to reward loyalists and aid his daughter’s electoral fortunes. At the same time, he reshaped bills to guarantee he and his Democratic troops shared in the partisan spoils of his legislative victories. Yet Madigan’s position as the state’s seemingly invulnerable power broker could not survive scandals among his close associates and the widespread belief that his time as Speaker had finally reached its end.

Unsparing and authoritative, The House That Madigan Built, is the page-turning account of one the most powerful politicians in Illinois history.

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Michael Madigan Indictment Details on Charges for Federal Racketeering and Bribery in Connection with Alleged Corruption Schemes

A federal grand jury in Chicago indicted former Speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives MICHAEL J. MADIGAN on racketeering and bribery charges for allegedly using his official position to corruptly solicit and receive personal financial rewards for himself and his associates.

The 22-count indictment accuses Madigan of leading for nearly a decade a criminal enterprise whose purpose was to enhance Madigan’s political power and financial well-being while also generating income for his political allies and associates. The charges allege that Madigan, who served as Speaker and occupied a number of other roles, including Representative of Illinois’s 22nd District, Committeeman for Chicago’s 13th Ward, Chairman of both the Illinois Democratic Party and the 13th Ward Democratic Organization, and partner at the Chicago law firm of Madigan & Getzendanner, used these positions to further the goals of the criminal enterprise. The indictment alleges that Madigan directed the activities of his close friend – co-defendant MICHAEL F. MCCLAIN – and that McClain carried out illegal activities at Madigan’s behest. Madigan and McClain allegedly caused various businesses, including the utility company Commonwealth Edison, to make monetary payments to Madigan’s associates as a reward for their loyalty to Madigan, at times in return for performing little or no legitimate work for the businesses.

Madigan, McClain, and other members of the enterprise allegedly unlawfully solicited benefits from businesses and other private parties. The indictment accuses Madigan of engaging in multiple schemes to reap the benefits of private legal work unlawfully steered to his law firm, including legal work from those with business before the State of Illinois and City of Chicago.

Madigan, 79, of Chicago, is charged with racketeering conspiracy and individual counts of using interstate facilities in aid of bribery, wire fraud, and attempted extortion. McClain, 74, of Quincy, Ill., is charged with racketeering conspiracy and individual counts of using interstate facilities in aid of bribery and wire fraud.

Arraignments in U.S. District Court in Chicago have not yet been scheduled.

The indictment was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Emmerson Buie, Jr., Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Office of the FBI; and Justin Campbell, Special Agent-in-Charge of the IRS Criminal Investigation Division in Chicago. The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Amarjeet S. Bhachu, Diane MacArthur, Timothy J. Chapman, Sarah E. Streicker, Michelle Kramer, and Julia Schwartz.

“Corruption by an elected official and his associates undermines the public’s confidence in our government,” said U.S. Attorney Lausch. “The indictment alleges a long-term, multifaceted scheme to use public positions for unlawful private gain. Rooting out and prosecuting the kind of corruption alleged in the indictment will always be a top priority for this office.”

“Our elected officials swear an oath to carry out the duties of their office,” said FBI SAC Buie. “When they dishonor that oath, it erodes the trust we have in our officials to do the right thing for our communities, and the FBI and its partners stand ready to stamp out corruption at any level of government.”

“IRS Criminal Investigation provides financial investigative expertise in our work with our law enforcement partners,” said IRS-CI SAC Campbell. “Our hallmark expertise in following the money trail in this type of case shows our agency is committed to rooting out public corruption. Today’s indictment underscores our commitment to this work in a collaborative effort to promote honest and ethical government at all levels, and to prosecute those who allegedly violate the public’s trust.”

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ComEd Pays $200 Million to Resolve Bribery Scheme Amid Reports of Allegedly Arranging Jobs and Contracts for Political Allies of Michael Madigan?

Commonwealth Edison Company (“ComEd”), the largest electric utility in Illinois, has agreed to pay $200 million to resolve a federal criminal investigation into a years-long bribery scheme, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Chicago announced.

The criminal investigation of ComEd is being resolved with a deferred prosecution agreement under which ComEd admitted it arranged jobs, vendor subcontracts, and monetary payments associated with those jobs and subcontracts, for various associates of a high-level elected official for the state of Illinois, to influence and reward the official’s efforts to assist ComEd with respect to legislation concerning ComEd and its business. The U.S. Attorney’s Office today filed a one-count criminal information in U.S. District Court in Chicago charging ComEd with bribery. Under the agreement, the government will defer prosecution on the charge for three years and then seek to dismiss it if ComEd abides by certain conditions, including continuing to cooperate with ongoing investigations of individuals or other entities related to the conduct described in the bribery charge.

The deferred prosecution agreement, which is subject to approval by the U.S. District Court, requires ComEd to pay a $200 million fine. A court date for the approval hearing has not yet been scheduled.

The bribery charge and deferred prosecution agreement were announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Emmerson Buie, Jr., Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago office of the FBI; and Kathy A. Enstrom, Special Agent-in-Charge of the IRS Criminal Investigation Division in Chicago. The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Amarjeet S. Bhachu, Diane MacArthur, Timothy J. Chapman, Sarah E. Streicker, Matthew L. Kutcher, and Michelle Kramer.

In addition to the monetary penalty and obligation to continue cooperating with government investigations, ComEd’s obligations under the deferred prosecution agreement include enhancing its compliance program and providing annual reports to the government regarding remediation and implementation of its compliance measures. If ComEd fails to completely perform or fulfill each of its obligations under the agreement during the three-year term, the U.S. Attorney’s Office can initiate prosecution of the charged offense.

ComEd’s admissions regarding the charged conduct are contained in a Statement of Facts attached to the deferred prosecution agreement. ComEd admitted that its efforts to influence and reward the high-level elected official – identified in the Statement of Facts as “Public Official A” – began in or around 2011 and continued through in or around 2019. During that time, the Illinois General Assembly considered bills and passed legislation that had a substantial impact on ComEd’s operations and profitability, including legislation that affected the regulatory process used to determine the electricity rates ComEd charged its customers. Public Official A controlled what measures were called for a vote in the Illinois House of Representatives and exerted substantial influence over fellow lawmakers concerning legislation affecting ComEd. The company admitted that it arranged for jobs and vendor subcontracts for Public Official A’s political allies and workers even in instances where those people performed little or no work that they were purportedly hired by ComEd to perform.

In addition to the jobs and contracts, ComEd further admitted that it undertook other efforts to influence and reward Public Official A, including by appointing an individual to ComEd’s Board of Directors at the request of Public Official A; retaining a particular law firm at the request of Public Official A; and accepting into the company’s internship program a certain amount of students who resided in the Chicago ward where Public Official A was associated.

To date, ComEd has provided substantial cooperation with the federal investigations. Per the terms of the agreement, the company will continue to provide such cooperation until all investigations and prosecutions arising out of the charged conduct are concluded.

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Does Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan Run a #Mafia Protection Racket? @GovRauner Says Yes.

Gov. Bruce Rauner went on Fox & Friends this morning and accused House Speaker Mike Madigan of running “a Mafia protection racket.”

Rauner took it up a notch against Madigan by trying to link the speaker’s property tax assessment appeal law firm to corruption this way.

“Basically in the political job he raises property taxes”, said Rauner, “We have the highest property taxes in America. And then on the side, he charges millions of dollars in fees to businesses that are afraid of their property taxes. He reduces them for a fee and then he holds the threat that if they ever cross him, he’ll raise their property taxes. It’s just like the Mafia. It’s a Mafia protection racket!”

Madigan denies this, says he has in place strict ethics rules separating his duties as speaker and lawyer. Also, the legislature doesn’t raise property taxes, local units of government do.

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Michael "Jaws" Giorango and Demitri Stavropoulos Receive Over $20 Million in Bank Loans From Giannoulias' Family Bank

Democrats are quietly worrying about whether Illinois Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias can win President Barack Obama's old Senate seat. His family's bank is believed to be on the verge of collapse and reportedly made $20 million in loans to two convicted felons.

Republican Rep. Mark Kirk is already accusing Giannoulias of lying to the voters about the loans, and his campaign is guaranteed to be pounding away at the bank's problems in millions of dollars worth of television ads. But the 34-year-old Giannoulias is still electable if he meets the bank embarrassment head on and strikes back at the Republican congressman as more conservative than this Democratic-trending state, Democratic insiders say.

Democrats brush aside any talk of getting Giannoulias to bow out of the race.

"Alexi Giannoulias is running a strong campaign on the issues that matter to the people of Illinois — like job creation and the economy," says Deirdre Murphy, national press secretary of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.

Giannoulias was not granting interviews Friday as the Chicago Tribune ran a front page story with the headline: "$20 MILLION IN BANK LOANS TO FELONS." The story detailed how Broadway Bank, a Giannoulias family-owned institution in Chicago, had lent large sums to convicted felons Michael "Jaws" Giorango and Demitri Stavropoulos.

The fact that Broadway had loaned the men millions — Stavropoulos was convicted of running a multistate bookmaking ring and Giorango of promoting a nationwide prostitution ring — was a campaign issue when Giannoulias ran for state treasurer in 2006. But the Tribune reported it reviewed court files and other documents that showed millions more — a total of more than $27 million worth of mortgages to Giorango, his land trusts and companies since 1999, $20 million of which was loaned when Giannoulias was a senior loan officer.

Giannoulias spokeswoman Kathleen Strand said he had "no role with these two individuals nor did he sit on the loan committee with these loans." She sought to portray the story as old news, saying Giannoulias has been answering questions about the loans for years.

The bank is fighting to keep its doors open. It is holding some $242 million in bad loans, and in January, entered into a consent decree with the federal government and has 90 days to raise about $85 million. But Giannoulias recently told The Associated Press that he believes it would be "very tough" for it to survive.

Democratic insiders in Washington, who spoke on condition of anonymity so they could freely discuss their views, say they expect the bank to fail eventually but think that will be greeted as "old news" by voters.

The White House's political team, still smarting after the stunning loss of the late Sen. Edward M. Kennedy's Massachusetts seat to Republican Scott Brown, has refocused its attention beyond the Beltway. Though not responsible for all Democratic campaigns, White House officials are aware any Democratic loss will be painted as a referendum on Obama.

The Democratic insiders said they learned lessons from Brown's election and have made sure Giannoulias' team would be unlikely to require a wave of Washington consultants to buttress a flailing campaign, as happened in Massachusetts. In that race, vans shuttled staffers from the Democratic committees around Washington northward for a final attempt to help Brown's Democratic opponent, Martha Coakley.

While the White House isn't keen on saying that Giannoulias stands to recoup only a few million dollars from the wreckage of the bank, internal polls and focus groups show he can win with that approach, according to these insiders.

They say Obama, who remains popular in his home state, will campaign for Giannoulias and top political adviser David Axelrod, a veteran of Chicago politics, is in constant touch with developments in Illinois.

At the Statehouse in Springfield, the hallway whispers are that top Democratic leaders would have preferred Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan, whose father, House Speaker Michael Madigan, is party chairman. But she didn't run and some say she probably would prefer to go for governor if she had her choice.

Meanwhile, Kirk capitalized on the fresh attention to his opponent's woes, saying in a statement Friday that Giannoulias has falsely claimed that he didn't know about the criminal backgrounds of Giorango and Stavropoulos.

"Alexi Giannoulias misled voters to get elected state treasurer and continued to mislead voters in an effort to win election as a United States senator," he said.

Chicago political consultant Don Rose said that if the election were now he thinks Kirk would win but sees a good opportunity for Giannoulias make up for lost ground, especially if the economy improves.

"They have to make Kirk unpalatable politically and level the playing field," Rose said. "Of course the best thing would be if they could get him (Giannoulias) to resign and replace him." But that isn't going to happen, Democrats say.

Thanks to Mike Robinson and Phillip Elliot

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Ex-Governor of Illinois Accuses Democrats of Ties to The Chicago Outfit

The adjourned session of the General Assembly failed abysmally to come to grips with Illinois’ pervasive state of corruption. Leading the failure were two Chicagoans — Mike Madigan, speaker of the House and John Cullerton, president of the Senate. The Chicago bloc fell in line behind them, demonstrating once again the baleful grip that Chicago’s Democratic machine, now 85 years old, has on this state.

It’s time to state the obvious. The primary cause of endemic corruption in Illinois is the Chicago political machine.

The machine began with “Push Cart” Tony, Anton J. Cermak. He and his successor, Edward J. Kelly, welded the Democratic Party’s 50 ward committeemen and 3,000 precinct captains into a tight, powerful and well-disciplined political machine that on election day regularly delivered the votes needed to elect its candidates — the ultimate goal of the Chicago machine, then and now.

Demanding unswerving loyalty, the machine absorbed many thousands of new arrivals — first, the Irish, Italians, Jews, Poles and Germans, and then the blacks from the South. With few changes in its disciplined methodology, it has now endured for more than 80 years as the available patronage jobs have grown to exceed 40,000.

From the beginning, self-preservation and a lack of ethical standards have characterized the machine’s method of operations. And the machine MO has always included its cardinal credo — “look the other way.” If thy brother is lining his pockets, it’s none of thine’s business.

The credo of toleration and its accompanying lack of ethical standards was hardened when the machine encountered Al Capone’s criminal organization. Sometimes close, sometimes at arms’ length, the political organization with its “look the other way” credo has ever since tolerated what has been called variously the criminal organization, crime syndicate, the Mob, the Chicago Outfit.

The blindness to crime existed in the 11th Ward organization, home for all the Daleys. The precinct captains of that ward organization worked the same streets as the Outfit’s soldiers.

Yet, Daley constantly denied that organized crime existed in Chicago. Significantly, Richard M. Daley looked the other way as state’s attorney, Cook County’s chief law enforcement officer from 1980 to 1989. Ignored during those years were the criminal activities of the Outfit disclosed recently by the Family Secrets trial.

The machine’s political power has extended over the years far beyond Chicago. The machine has also controlled the state’s Democratic Party organization and the selection of candidates for both county and state office. In the state legislature, the machine has constantly controlled a large bloc.

With wheeling and dealing and masterful power brokering raised to an art form, the machine bloc has enabled Chicago machine politics to control both leaders and the flow of legislation in both houses. To get anything accomplished, downstate legislators must bow to the Chicago leadership.

In recent years, money has replaced patronage as the critical fuel for the machine’s operations. So-called “pay to play” has become endemic. Governmental rewards go to those making large contributions. In practical effect, it’s legalized bribery.

Often, the money flows through lawyers — a business desiring governmental results pays high fees to particular attorneys who, in turn, make campaign contributions to the official having the power to grant the favors.

Today, Mayor Richard M. Daley denies that he heads a political machine. He should read the felony indictments of more than 130 officials in his administration. They spell out an MO that is basically no different from that of old-time bosses Tony Cermak and Edward Kelly. And basically, it’s the same MO spelled out in the 75-page indictment of impeached Gov. Rod Blagojevich and the 18-count indictment of former secretary of state and Gov. George Ryan, one a Democrat and the other a Republican.

The columnist Mike Royko once wrote that the City of Chicago’s official motto, “Urbs in Horto” (city in a garden), should be changed to, “Ubi est Mea” (what’s in it for me). That has a strange similarity to Blagojevich’s infamous statement about the Senate seat vacated by President Barack Obama that he tried to auction off to the highest bidder: “I’ve got this thing and it’s ---- golden and I’m not going to give it away for ---- nothing.”

As the trial lawyers say, I rest my case. The record is clear that it is the Chicago political machine that has brought Illinois, the Land of Lincoln, to its present intolerable state of corruption.

Thanks to Dan Walker, Governor of Illinois from 1973-77.

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State Treasurer Candidate Asked to Explain Mob Allegations

Mike Madigan doesn't get mad. He gets even. And boy, does he get even.

Lobbing another political hand grenade, the state Democratic Party chairman and Illinois House speaker said Tuesday he is withholding his support for Democratic treasurer nominee Alexi Giannoulias until he answers "those allegations of connections to the mob."

"I want some answers," Madigan said. "The allegations are there." The powerful Southwest Side Democrat made the remarks at his annual fund-raiser when I asked him why Giannoulias' photo was still not on the party's Web site.

A North Side banker and political novice, Giannoulias, you will remember, beat Madigan's choice for state treasurer in the primary, Downstater Paul Mangieri. That gave Giannoulias the chance to square off against Republican nominee Christine Radogno in November. But Giannoulias, 30, became engulfed in controversy. The Chicago Tribune published articles about millions of dollars his family-owned bank loaned to two convicted felons and an alleged money-launderer.

Broadway Bank is not accused of anything illegal, but it has been a political embarrassment for Giannoulias, who first called one of the men a "very nice person," then later said he had been too "cavalier."

The bombshell from Madigan recalls his cryptic comments in 2002 about never-explained "indiscretions" of then-Democratic gubernatorial nominee Rod Blagojevich. This time, Madigan is being more pointed. "I mean my history in politics, if you were alleged to be connected to the mob, you were done, but life seems to go on," he said.

Giannoulias told me he feels he has satisfactorily answered reporters' questions about the loans. "I would love to sit down with the speaker at some point," he said. "I've put calls in to his office and see if we could sit down and talk about how we could uh, you know, work together." But Giannoulias conceded he's stumped about what he can do to bring Madigan on board. "You know, I don't know," he said. "I'm a political outsider to some of this, you know, silliness."

Thanks to Carol Marin.

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