The splashy corruption trial insiders fear may not yield a drop

CHICAGO — A federal corruption trial involving one of the nation’s biggest electric utilities and one of Illinois’ most well-known political figures feels like it should end with consequences — even in a city famous for elected officials behaving badly.

The nearly seven weeks of testimony have centered on the “ComEd Four” — former Commonwealth Edison CEO Anne Pramaggiore and three lobbyists, including a confidante of the longtime House speaker, accused of a bribery scheme to influence energy legislation.

There’s an awkward air of hope and resignation about the trial and whether it feeds into the state’s long-held reputation for corruption. And while elected officials and political insiders anxiously await a verdict due any day now, many are already frustrated that this case might end the same way as all the others: Someone goes to prison and someone pays a fine but the gears of the same old Illinois machine just keeps turning.

“I’m fearful that it will have zero impact,” outgoing Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, who sought stricter ethics rules during her administration, said in an interview.

“You have people taking the stand and talking about fixing this and taking jobs and doing no work. It’s horrifying,” she said. “And every single person who testifies, every piece of evidence, every wiretapped call, I think, erodes people’s trust in core democratic institutions.”

There is some sense that if Illinois can’t crack down on corruption, there’s still an element of accountability.

“The trial matters because it will make people think twice about engaging in this kind of behavior if they know the feds are watching,” said Alisa Kaplan, executive director of Reform for Illinois, a nonpartisan good-government organization.

But this is the state that produced several infamous examples of wrongdoing: Former Democratic Gov. Rod Blagojevich (convicted for trying to sell a Senate seat) … and former Republican Gov. George Ryan (convicted of accepting gifts and vacations from friends in exchange for government contracts) … and Rita Crundwell (a comptroller convicted of absconding with nearly $54 million of her city’s money) and has seen many Chicago City Council members indicted or implicated.

The Four are accused of a bribery plot where the utility arranged jobs for allies of former House Speaker Michael Madigan, who faces a separate trial next year on racketeering and bribery charges, without them having to do actual work. In return, the utility sought passage of 2011 “Smart Grid” legislation and a 2016 measure that rescued two financially struggling nuclear power plants from shutting down, according to federal prosecutors.

Madigan, who led Illinois House Democrats for nearly 40 years, hasn’t appeared in court but his presence has loomed over the trial, which is being held in Chicago’s downtown Loop business district. And political insiders have been captivated as former lawmakers and lobbyists testified about the inner workings of state government, with echoes of the once-dominant machine politics.

One element that’s drawing people into the case is the audio. The former House speaker famously didn’t have a cell phone or use email, so trial observers were particularly stunned to hear Madigan and his close aide, Mike McClain, on secret phone recordings.

The tapes were designed to cement the idea to jurors that Madigan had an outsized influence orchestrating the conduct of state government so testimony from people like state Rep. Bob Rita, a Democrat, clicked: Madigan ruled “through fear and intimidation,” he told the court.

Federal prosecutors say the ComEd defendants schemed to pay $1.3 million to subcontractors who did little or no work, though attorneys for the ComEd Four say their clients participated in nothing more than lobbying. Madigan has denied wrongdoing but resigned from office and relinquished his chairpersonship of the state Democratic Party in 2021 after he was identified in the ComEd case.

“I was never involved in any criminal activity. The government is attempting to criminalize a routine constituent service: Job recommendations,” Madigan has said in a statement about the federal investigations. “That is not illegal, and these other charges are equally unfounded. … I adamantly deny these accusations and look back proudly on my time as an elected official, serving the people of Illinois.”

The trial is also being watched warily from the Capitol in Springfield. Lawmakers are about a month away from wrapping up their legislative session but the ComEd Four trial has not sparked new, splashy ethics measures.

Joe Ferguson, the former Chicago inspector general, worries it’s already too late for lawmakers to act before their session ends May 19.

“When the indictments came out, there was a flurry of talk about reforms. But nothing has been done,” Ferguson said in an interview. “It means when the legislature meets again, the trial will be a distant memory.”

Both House and Senate spokespeople pointed to recent changes Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker signed into law that restrict government officials from lobbying activities, tighten regulations on registered lobbyists and expand financial disclosure requirements.

State Sen. Terri Bryant, a Republican who sits on the bipartisan Legislative Ethics Commission, said lawmakers are mostly watching and waiting, but remain focused on legislation for their districts.

“It’s concerning that Mike Madigan might get off the hook. There’s not a person in Springfield who doesn’t think he’s as guilty as hell,” said Bryant. “If those four get off, how can they prosecute Mike Madigan? It looks like everything hangs on this trial.”

Despite the federal government’s many probes of Illinois officials over the years, there are moments that seem as if politicians aren’t taking concerns about corruption seriously.

Early in her administration, Lightfoot had tried to push Chicago Ald. Edward Burke out, to no avail. The mayor followed through on a campaign promise to overhaul the city’s ethics laws, and introduced rules that cut back on outside employment of aldermen and expanded disclosure requirements for lobbyists.

But earlier this month, City Council members stood up one by one to offer high praise for Burke, a Democrat who spent the last four of his 54 years in office waiting on his own trial on federal charges of racketeering, bribery and extortion.

It’s the sort of display Lightfoot can’t stand.

“It was pretty amazing,” she said. “That’s all I’ll say.”