Chicago City Wire

The ComEd Four guilty verdict on all counts for each of the four defendants is a clear indicator of corruption in the state’s political games, said Dan Proft, host of Chicago Morning Answer.

"I guess why I’m of two minds on this is because of the statements that I read from all the politicos, including people that have been there for decades," Proft said. "Sun Times had an inventory of [leaders] with their performative hand wringing comments. … Play this game: Remove the names and put the statements in front of members of your family or friends and see if they can identify the party of the person making the statement. The point is, the statements made by Republicans, the statements made by Democrats, they’re all the same statements, because they’re all the same politicians, with very few exceptions."

In the ComEd Four trial, four people – former ComEd lobbyist Michael McClain, former ComEd CEO Anne Pramaggiore, retired ComEd vice president John Hooker and former ComEd consultant Jay Doherty – were tried on nine different counts for conspiracy, bribery and fraud in connection with allegations of corporate and political bribery with former House Speaker Michael J. Madigan, WIFR reported.

The allegations date years back to a total of $1.3 million paid out to five different allies of Madigan, for work that was very minimal or none at all, the station reported. The money was suspected to be incentive for the political powers to help push through legislation for rate hikes for ComEd that saved them from bankruptcy back in 2016, the story said.

The six-week trial ended with jurors finding the four defendants guilty of all counts, although the defendants maintain their "not guilty" pleas and defend their actions as routine business and lobbying efforts, which are not illegal, the Chicago Sun Times reported. They say there were no criminal intents and were just building goodwill as their jobs required. The group has not learned their final sentences yet, as the judge will deliver them later. Similarly, Madigan, who was not in the trial, will face his own trial in 2024 after years of investigation on his grip of power in the House, which ended in 2021.

Several politicians responded to the verdict, the Sun Times reported. Their reactions were mixed, including satifsfaction that justice was served and discouragement over the state of corruption in Illinois politics. 

“This guilty verdict has proven that the system of doing business in Springfield is broken. This should not have been the first step to rooting out corruption in Illinois, but after today, it is clear there must be a sense of urgency in bringing back the people’s trust in state government,” House Republican Leader Tony McCombie said, the Sun Times reported. 

Clips from the jury and trial show that residents and citizens were also tired of their government and leaders dancing around policies and guidelines to make decisions to benefit themselves or their allies. They said they wanted to see the government adhere to the strict regulations on reviewing legislation and electing officials that are meant to protect and support citizens, Chicago Morning Answer reported.