After a long weekend, a federal jury has returned Monday for a fourth day of deliberations in the “ComEd Four” trial of a group of executives and lobbyists who allegedly conspired to bribe then-House Speaker Michael Madigan to win his influence over the utility’s legislative agenda in Springfield.
So far, the panel of seven women and five men has deliberated for about 15 hours over three days. They took Friday off, as has been the schedule throughout the seven-week trial, and returned at 10 a.m. Monday to resume discussions.
It is not unusual for juries in complicated federal conspiracy trials to take a week or more to reach a verdict. In former Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s retrial in 2011, the jury was out for 10 days before convicting him on sweeping corruption counts. Deliberations in the trial of his predecessor, former Republican Gov. George Ryan, in 2006 lasted for 11 days before ending in conviction.
In the ComEd Four case, which is now in its 8th week, jurors are sifting through testimony from some 50 witnesses, dozens of wiretapped phone calls and other secret recordings, as well as thousands of emails and internal ComEd documents.
[ ‘ComEd Four’ bribery trial: What you need to know ]
The only communication from the jury Thursday came in the form of three notes asking for transcripts of the recordings and how much former McPier boss Juan Ochoa was paid while on the ComEd board.
Ochoa testified it was about $80,000, but U.S. District Judge Harry Leinenweber responded that they should rely on their collective memories.
Charged are Michael McClain, 75, a longtime ComEd contract lobbyist and one of Madigan’s closest confidants; former ComEd CEO Anne Pramaggiore, 64, a lawyer and onetime rising star in Chicago’s corporate world; Jay Doherty, 69, a lobbyist and ex-president of the City Club of Chicago; and John Hooker, 74, who over a 44-year career worked his way from the utility’s mailroom to become its point man in Springfield.
The indictment alleged the four conspired to funnel $1.3 million in payments to ghost “subcontractors,” largely through Doherty’s company, who were actually Madigan’s cronies.
[ ‘ComEd Four’ trial: Evidence seen and heard by the jury ]
The utility also hired a clout-heavy law firm run by political operative Victor Reyes, distributed numerous college internships within Madigan’s 13th Ward fiefdom, and blatantly backed former Ochoa, the friend of a Madigan ally, for an $80,000-a-year seat on the utility’s board of directors, the indictment alleged.
In return, prosecutors say, Madigan used his influence over the General Assembly to help ComEd score a series of huge legislative victories that not only rescued the company from financial instability but led to record-breaking, billion-dollar profits.
Among them was the 2011 smart grid bill that set a built-in formula for the rates ComEd could charge customers, avoiding battles with the Illinois Commerce Commission, according to the charges. ComEd also leaned on Madigan’s office to help pass the Future Energy Jobs Act in 2016, which kept the formula rate in place and also rescued two nuclear plants run by an affiliated company, Exelon Generation.
The indictment charges a total of nine counts, including a main bribery conspiracy count lodged against each of the four defendants. Other charges include circumventing internal business controls and the falsification of business records to allegedly hide the payments ComEd was making.
Defense attorneys have argued over and over that the government is seeking to criminalize legal lobbying and job recommendations that are at the center of the state’s legitimate political system.
They ripped the government’s star witness, former ComEd executive Fidel Marquez, as a liar and opportunist who was so terrified when FBI agents confronted him in January 2019 that he flipped without even consulting a lawyer and agreed to secretly record his friends.
“We are here because the government scared Fidel Marquez to death,” attorney Jacqueline Jacobson, who represents Hooker, said in her closing argument.
Marquez eventually pleaded guilty to bribery conspiracy and is awaiting sentencing.
In rebuttal, lead prosecutor Assistant U.S. Attorney Amarjeet Bhachu, told the jury that the efforts to woo Madigan were like a “corruption toll” similar to something motorists must pay to continue on their trip on the state tollway.
And Madigan was the gatekeeper, Bhachu said.
“It was a corruption toll to make sure that Mr. Madigan was not an obstacle to their legislative agenda,” Bhachu said. “And they paid that toll every month, from 2011 to 2019, when they were caught.”
The ComEd Four case marks the most significant public corruption trial since Blagojevich was convicted 12 years ago.
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It has struck at the heart of Illinois politics itself, holding up a mirror not only to Madigan’s vaunted political operation but also the entire system of relationships between lobbyists, legislators and government-regulated utilities that rely on the General Assembly for its profits.
The case is the first of a series of federal probes that rocked Illinois politics and are now lined up for trial.
Among the others: Chicago Ald. Edward Burke, who is set to face a jury on racketeering charges in November that are based on the undercover cooperation of his onetime colleague, then-Ald. Daniel Solis.
In March, Madigan and McClain are set to go on trial on racketeering charges of their own. That indictment filed in March 2022 alleging an array of corrupt schemes, including the ComEd conspiracy allegations.
jmeisner@chicagotribune.com
rlong@chicagotribune.com
mcrepeau@chicagotribune.com
