Chicago City Wire

Chris Robling is well aware of the investigation into Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan.

But Robling, a veteran political strategist and commentator, said it’s important to not overlook the role Commonwealth Edison played in this emerging scandal. ComEd agreed to a deferred prosecution deal with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Chicago, accepting a $200 million fine and a three-year probationary period.

If it complies, a single charge of bribery will be dismissed. Still, the reality is that the state’s largest utility worked to influence lawmakers to obtain favorable treatment, Robling said, including electric rates.

“People need to focus on ComEd’s betrayal of its ratepayers and service area,” he told Chicago City Wire. “ComEd spends millions per year to tell us it’s our best friend, but then it goes along with the culture of corruption by dispensing favors to politicians at the expense of its customers. This is an outrage that demands drastic changes at Exelon and a real commitment to integrity.”

ComEd admitted it attempted “to influence and reward" Public Official A beginning around 2011 and continuing through 2019. That public figure was identified as the speaker of the House, a post Madigan, a Chicago Democrat, has held for all but two years since 1983.

"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," the U.S. Attorney's Office said in a statement.

"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,” the statement said.

Those illegal acts led to favorable 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,” court filings reveal.

Madigan has denied any impropriety and pledged to cooperate with the investigation. He has declined to respond to calls he resign.