Chicago City Wire

Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah Streicker delivered opening arguments in the case against the so-called “ComEd Four.”

The public corruption trial began earlier this week. 

“The defendants sought to bribe Mike Madigan in order to influence his actions in the General Assembly, to ensure that he didn’t take action to hurt the company in the General Assembly and to reward past beneficial conduct to ComEd in the general assembly with legislation that was worth hundreds of millions of dollars,” Streicker said in opening statements, Capitol Fax reported. 

Streicker said ComEd – the state’s largest utility provider – provided $1.3 million to Madigan-linked contractors for so-called “ghost subcontractors” who did no work for the company. Defense attorneys have called the prosecution “overzealous.”

"In short, Madigan wanted, the defendants gave, and the defendants got,” Streicker stated, according to The Center Square.

The case centers on the longtime associate of former House Speaker Michael Madigan, Michael McClain, former ComEd CEO Anne Pramaggiore, former ComEd lobbyist John Hooker, and lobbyist and former City Club of Chicago head Jay Doherty. The four are accused of participating in a $150 million bribery scandal meant to sway favor with the former house speaker.

“It’s not a conspiracy, and you know what? It’s not even suspicious. It’s a profession,” Patrick Cotter, the attorney for Michael McClain, said. 

The trial is expected to last two months and is set to feature over 100 hours of audio collected throughout its duration. 

On one tape that will be used in the trial, McClain said, “We had to hire these guys because Mike Madigan came to us.” He used euphemisms such as “our friend” or “a friend of ours” to refer to Madigan, tapes reveal, according to WTTW.

In April 2024, the 80-year-old Madigan will stand trial on 22 counts of corruption involving ComEd and one related to a different bribery conspiracy with AT&T. Madigan reportedly participated in the 2022 election campaign while facing charges, despite losing his leadership roles in the Democratic party and the General Assembly. Also, he has taken the final $10 million from his campaign budget and put it toward his defense fund.