(The Center Square) – ComEd connections and former state lawmakers are in the spotlight during the early days of the corruption trial of former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan and co-defendant Michael McClain, a former state representative and longtime ally of Madigan’s.
ComEd executive Scott Vogt, who said he has worked for the utility company since 1998, took the witness stand late Wednesday morning.
As he previously testified during the ComEd Four trial last year, Vogt described ComEd’s financial situation as “dire” before the General Assembly passed legislation that benefited the utility. The Energy Infrastructure Modernization Act became law in 2011.
Vogt testified Wednesday that ComEd’s credit rating upgraded from junk status before IEMA was passed to a high-grade rating after it became law. He said there was jubilation at ComEd after EIMA passed over a veto by then-Gov. Pat Quinn.
Vogt also described a party attended by Madigan, McClain and top ComEd executives after the General Assembly passed the Future Energy Jobs Act in 2016. Vogt said FEJA also benefited ComEd.
McClain, former ComEd CEO Anne Pramaggiore, former ComEd lobbyist John Hooker and former contract lobbyist Jay Doherty were convicted of conspiracy, bribery and willfully falsifying records in the ComEd Four trial last year. The case involved a conspiracy to bribe Madigan with no-show jobs, contracts and payments to associates in exchange for supporting legislation that would benefit ComEd.
Vogt spent time Wednesday explaining ComEd’s corporate structure, utility rate formulas and smart meters. He also explained how Senate Bill 9, a smart grid measure that passed over Quinn’s veto in 2013, benefited ComEd.
Earlier, former state Rep. Scott Drury, D-Highwood, and Madigan defense attorney Todd Pugh had several combative exchanges during a lengthy cross-examination period. Drury took the stand Tuesday afternoon and stepped down after 11 a.m. Wednesday.
After Pugh finished, McClain defense attorney Patrick Cotter spent less than a minute questioning Drury. Judge John Robert Blakey said it was the first time he heard an attorney say, “Very briefly,” and then actually follow through.
One subject that was not discussed in court was Drury voting “present” for speaker in January 2017, while Drury was still a state representative. Drury subsequently did not receive an inscribed desk clock touting Madigan’s tenure as speaker that all other House Democrats received.
Former State Rep. Lou Lang, D-Skokie, is expected to take the stand Thursday.
During the ComEd Four trial last year, prosecutors entered phone-recorded evidence of Madigan speaking with McClain after reports surfaced of a potential sexual harassment claim against Lang.
“Mike, if you think I’m wrong, tell me I’m wrong, but I don’t how he continues down there,” Madigan told McClain on the recording.
Soon after, McClain urged Lang, a longtime Madigan ally, to consider a different career. Lang resigned and went to work as a lobbyist less than three months later.
Former State Rep. Jeanne Ives, R-Wheaton, served in the statehouse from 2013 to 2019.
“Lou Lang is an obnoxious bully. Honestly, those guys are so arrogant that they would not talk to anybody on the other side, for the most part,” Ives told The Center Square.
A report in 2019 from former Illinois Office of Executive Inspector General Maggie Hickey did not find enough evidence to support claims of the unwanted sexual advances an activist accused Lang of committing.
Ives said Madigan’s associates were not interested in working with her when she was in the General Assembly.
“These people, they had no time because they knew that they could control the narrative and do whatever they wanted to. They had no time for a lot of Republicans,” Ives saidd.
A lone protester followed Madigan and several of his defense attorneys into the courthouse Wednesday morning. The protester, who also walked behind Madigan before he entered the federal building last Thursday, held a sign which said, “SHAME” and chanted, “Madigan, ecosystem destroyer!”
United States of America v. Madigan et al is scheduled to resume Thursday at the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse in Chicago.