A federal jury deliberated for a fourth day Monday without reaching a verdict 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 21 hours over four days, beginning on April 25. They took Friday off, as has been the schedule throughout the seven-week trial.
The jury will return for more discussions at 10 a.m. Tuesday.
It is not unusual for juries in complicated federal conspiracy trials to take a week or more to reach a verdict. In former Democratic 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 eighth 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.
Shortly after resuming talks Monday, the jury sent a note asking the court to “clarify a possible discrepancy with the use of conjunctions and/or” in the indictment and instructions. It was nearly identical to a question sent by the jury in the sexual abuse trial last year of R. Kelly, which was also in front of U.S. District Judge Harry Leinenweber.
“This is precisely the same issue I had with the Kelly case,” the judge said. The problem is the indictment is conjunctive, using the word “and” while describing the probable cause for the various elements of the bribery counts, while the instructions use the word “or.”
The judge said he would respond the same way he did in the Kelly case, which is to follow the instructions.
The Kelly jury later acquitted Kelly and his two co-defendants of the conspiracy counts that contained the confusing language, though Kelly was found guilty of sexual abuse-related charges.
Defense attorney Patrick Cotter objected on behalf of all the ComEd Four defendants, saying “we believe the instructions constitute an improper amendment of the indictment” that lessens the government’s burden of proof.
Leinenweber overruled the objection, but said, “I don’t blame you at all for raising that point.”
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.
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 McPier boss Juan 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.
The case marks the most significant public corruption trial since Blagojevich was convicted 12 years ago.
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 their 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 April 2024, Madigan and McClain are set to go on trial on racketeering charges of their own. That indictment was filed in March 2022 alleging an array of corrupt schemes, including the ComEd conspiracy allegations.
jmeisner@chicagotribune.com
rlong@chicagotribune.com
mcrepeau@chicagotribune.com
