HomeBudget & Tax NewsIllinois Lawmaker Says House Speaker Called Shots on $1.8 billion ComEd Legislation

Illinois Lawmaker Says House Speaker Called Shots on $1.8 billion ComEd Legislation

The former speaker has been charged with 23 counts of racketeering, bribery and official misconduct in a separate case that could go to trial

(The Center Square) – Former House Speaker Michael Madigan called the shots on a bill that was worth $1.8 billion to Illinois’ largest electrical utility.

That’s what the state lawmaker who sponsored the measure told jurors Tuesday in the bribery trial of four former ComEd executives and lobbyists.

State Rep. Bob Rita, D-Blue Island, was the sponsor of the Future Energy Jobs Act, a wide-ranging and controversial energy bill that state lawmakers passed in December 2016.

Rita told jurors that when he was presented with an amendment to that legislation that he previously didn’t know about, Michael McClain, a close-confidant of Madigan, pulled him out of a committee hearing to direct him to proceed with the amendment.

“McClain told me to go ahead and adopt the amendment,” Rita said.

And that’s what he did.

“[I] went back into the committee room and proceeded to adopt the amendment,” Rita said.

Rita said he trusted McClain to give him advice that would keep him in line with what Madigan wanted.

Lawmakers passed the bill at 8 p.m. on Dec. 1, 2016. The Citizens Utility Board, a nonprofit organization created by the state legislature, called it “one of the most significant pieces of energy legislation ever to pass the Illinois General Assembly.”

Madigan didn’t vote on it at all. But that didn’t mean Madigan didn’t support the measure, Rita said.

“If he didn’t support it, it wouldn’t have passed,” Rita said.

Rita returned to the witness stand Tuesday for a second day of testimony.

On Monday, Rita told jurors that Madigan had “total control” over the Illinois House and the Democratic Party of Illinois. He said Madigan obtained that power “through fear and intimidation.”

Prosecutors called Rita as a witness as they presented their case against former ComEd CEO Anne Pramaggiore, former ComEd lobbyist John Hooker, former ComEd consultant Jay Doherty and McClain, a former lobbyist and state lawmaker who was known for his close relationship with Madigan.

All four have pleaded “not guilty” to conspiracy, bribery, and willfully falsifying ComEd books and records. ComEd is the state’s largest electric utility.

In July 2020, ComEd agreed to pay $200 million to resolve a criminal investigation into the years-long bribery scheme. As part of a deferred prosecution agreement, ComEd admitted it arranged jobs, vendor subcontracts and payments in a bid to influence Madigan.

Madigan served in the Illinois House from 1971 to 2021. He served as speaker of the Illinois House from 1983 to 1995 and again from 1997 to 2021. He wielded additional power as chairman of the Democratic Party of Illinois.

Madigan, who resigned after losing the House speakership in January 2021, has been charged with 23 counts of racketeering, bribery and official misconduct in a separate case that could go to trial in April 2024. He has pleaded “not guilty.”

Originally published by The Center Square. Republished with permission.

For more from Budget & Tax News.

For more public policy from The Heartland Institute.

Brett Rowland
Brett Rowland
Brett Rowland is an award-winning journalist who has worked as an editor and reporter in newsrooms in Illinois and Wisconsin. He is an investigative reporter for The Center Square.

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