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Commonwealth Edison's former CEO and three of its former lobbyists are simply "collateral damage" in the federal government's pursuit of powerful ex-Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan, and the bribery conspiracy charges they face reflect prosecutors' attempt to criminalize politics and legal lobbying, Chicago federal jurors heard Monday.
Prosecutors urged a Chicago federal jury not to be fooled by arguments raised by Commonwealth Edison's former CEO and lobbyists that jobs and benefits arranged for associates of Illinois' ex-House speaker reflected ordinary business and legal lobbying, likening it to a game of chess in which they were "grandmasters" of corruption.
Former Commonwealth Edison Co. and Exelon Utilities CEO Anne Pramaggiore claimed Tuesday that she had forgotten about a 2019 phone call in which another executive told her that subcontractors under one of the utility's lobbyists had been paid for years for doing no work when she denied knowing about them in a subsequent interview with federal investigators.
Former Commonwealth Edison Co. and Exelon Utilities CEO Anne Pramaggiore denied bribing or conspiring to influence ex-Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan while taking the stand in her own defense Monday, saying she never authorized hiring anyone on his recommendation, thinking they wouldn't work or provide value to the company.
A top ally of former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan testified Tuesday that he received payments for roughly seven years from Commonwealth Edison despite doing almost no work for the utility, with Madigan allegedly saying he controlled the arrangement.