TIME TO STEP DOWN, MR. SPEAKER
The hammer that dropped Friday morning was not velvet.
In a one-count criminal information, federal prosecutors announced a bribery charge involving utility company ComEd and more than $1.3 million in favors the company admits it granted to highranking public officials to curry special favor in Springfield. Which public officials? While House Speaker Michael Madigan was not charged with wrongdoing and was not named in the documents, the feds made no secret of identifying him by title. There is only one House speaker, the most powerful politician in Illinois.
But for how long?
Until Friday, Madigan has managed to dodge the spotlight during the federal investigation of ComEd’s lobbyist practices, stating, “I am not the target of anything.” While other key players also were not named in the federal paperwork — a lobbyist, ComEd’s former CEO, a law firm — prosecutors laid out a case that puts Madigan in the middle of things.
The feds made clear that ComEd, doing business as a heavily regulated utility in Illinois, was adroit at navigating Madigan’s world, a place where the speaker gets what he wants. Make him happy, ComEd understood, and the utility company could count on favorable treatment in the legislature.
All of this wheeling and dealing was part of an illegal scheme, U.S. Attorney John Lausch alleged Friday: “A nearly decade long corruption scheme involving top management at a large public utility, leaders of state government, consultants and several others inside and outside of government.”
Keep Madigan happy
According to prosecutors, keeping Madigan happy meant putting his friends and allies on ComEd’s payroll as subcontractors who did little to no work. It meant hiring a Madigan-preferred law firm. It meant regular pressure over the course of nearly 10 years. Rather stunningly, Madigan directed ComEd puppeteers from the top down, from pushing a corporate board appointee to suggesting meter maid hires and even interns, the feds alleged.
In one example cited by prosecutors, ComEd had been paying an unidentified law firm for 850 hours of work because ComEd knew it’s what the speaker wanted. But at some point, someone at ComEd tried to get the hours reduced. Uh oh.
That’s when an attorney associated with the firm complained to ComEd’s CEO, which led to a pretty straightforward correspondence. It went like this, according to federal documents:
“I am sure you know how valuable (this lawyer) is to our Friend (Madigan). … I know the drill and so do you. If you do not get involve [sic] and resolve this issue of 850 hours for his law firm per year then he will go to our Friend (Madigan). Our Friend (Madigan) will call me and then I will call you. Is this a drill we must go through?”
The CEO replied, “Sorry. No one informed me. I am on this.”
Easy peasy. Make your demand. Twist an arm. Get those 850 hours for a favored firm. This isn’t exactly how Madigan earned the “velvet hammer” title, but it speaks to it: His command is behind-the-scenes, soft, but forceful.
Step down, Speaker
On Friday, Madigan denied wrongdoing but confirmed his offices were served with subpoenas. He gave no indication that he plans to step down from the speaker’s position, his state rep seat or his post as state party chairman. But how can he justify remaining in a position that demands trust with the bevy of allegations swirling around him? We believe, and have said previously, Madigan has held onto the speaker’s job for far too long. This should be the clincher. Step down, Mr. Speaker.
Under the U.S. attorney office’s agreement, ComEd agreed to pay $200 million to the U.S. Treasury and to continue to cooperate with prosecutors to avoid a full-blown prosecution and potential trial. The deal lasts three years. That’s a good indication of how long Lausch intends to bring the heat.
During the news conference Friday, he called the ongoing investigation “vibrant” and emphasized the brazen nature of corruption in Illinois, reaching into the highest of corporate and political enclaves.
“In two words, it’s not good,” he said. “But our federal investigations of corruption in Illinois are ongoing. We have a lot of work ahead of us, and we will get that work done.”
Who pays the price?
On one hand, Friday’s filing was breathtaking in its admissions. ComEd was able to pass numerous bills, and at least two very controversial packages, after granting favors to a top elected official, according to prosecutors.
Who pays the price for that? We do as taxpayers and electricity customers. ComEd serves 70% of Illinois users. But these deals were never in our favor. And all the lawmakers who approved them — in one case over the veto of former Gov. Pat Quinn and another over the firm objection of then-Attorney General Lisa Madigan, the speaker’s daughter — had to know the deal stunk. But they did it anyway.
On the other hand, Friday’s filing could be considered mundane. This is how things get done in Illinois. This is the game: squeeze and collect. This is the heart of the accusation against Ald. Ed Burke, who allegedly pressed entities doing business with City Hall. It’s the same M.O. perpetrated by the chief of staff to a Cook County Board member who stands accused of taking bribes as part of a red-light camera scheme.
Three Madigan associates had their homes raided last year as part of the unfolding ComEd scandal: Mike McClain, a former ComEd lobbyist and Madigan ally; Kevin Quinn, a Madigan aide who, in the middle of sexual harassment scandal, got financial help through McClain; and former Chicago Ald. Michael R. Zalewski, who worked with Madigan representing Chicago’s Southwest Side.
More to come in this heater case? You can bet on it. Including, we hope, a resignation.