Closing arguments in ComEd bribery trial set for Monday
By HANNAH MEISEL
Capitol News Illinois
hmeisel@capitolnewsillinois.com
CHICAGO – After nearly six weeks, a federal jury has heard almost all the evidence in the bribery trial of three ex-lobbyists for electric utility Commonwealth Edison and its former CEO who are accused of bribing former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan.
Prosecutors allege the four arranged for Madigan allies to get jobs and contracts with ComEd in exchange for the powerful speaker’s help with their legislation in Springfield. Defendants contend they were merely engaging in above-board lobbying.
Attorneys for three of the four defendants rested their case Wednesday afternoon, while the marquee defendant in the case, Madigan confidant and longtime ComEd lobbyist Mike McClain, indicated he would not be calling any witnesses. The jury will begin hearing closing arguments on Monday.
On Thursday, prosecutors and defense lawyers will negotiate over jury instructions, which could be key to the outcome of the case.
“I am optimistic, perhaps more so than you guys, that it will be a smooth instruction conference,” Judge Harry Leinenweber quipped to the parties after the jury had been sent home Wednesday.
Earlier in the day, longtime ComEd lobbyist John Hooker finished hours of testimony that had the jury laughing when he underwent questioning from his own attorney, followed by a withering cross-examination from the government.
At one point during questioning from Assistant U.S. Attorney Julia Schwartz, Hooker contradicted the testimony of codefendant Anne Pramaggiore, ComEd’s former CEO. At issue was a wiretapped call featuring Hooker and former ComEd executive Fidel Marquez, recorded in the third month of Marquez’s cooperation with the government in April 2019.
In the call, Hooker related to Marquez that he’d spoken with Pramaggiore about hiring Madigan’s former chief of staff, who the speaker had been forced to fire the previous year after sexual harassment allegations. At the time, Pramaggiore had already been in her new role at ComEd’s parent company, Exelon, for nearly a year.
“I was talking with Anne and she told me that she’s looking at…bringing Mapes on,” Hooker told Marquez. “Now Mapes would work with her, cause she says, ‘I wanted to kinda, well let’s pay him but hide his contract in someone else’s.’”
On Tuesday, Pramaggiore confirmed that she had been considering hiring Mapes for a national project she was working on, although she ultimately never did. However, she claimed she never told Hooker she wanted to “hide” Mapes’ contract in a subcontracting arrangement. Subcontracting is not illegal.
“No, I have no recollection of having a conversation like that with Mr. Hooker,” Pramaggiore said.
But one day later, Hooker was confronted with that same call.
“Did you hear Ms. Pramaggiore testify yesterday that that conversation didn’t happen?” Schwartz asked Hooker. “Was Ms. Pramaggiore telling the truth about that?”
Hooker replied that “to the best of my recollection,” he and Pramaggiore did talk about putting Mapes on a consulting contract with McClain, as he’d said in the recorded phone call.
“You wouldn’t have lied to Mr. Marquez about what Ms. Pramaggiore told you, would you?” Schwartz asked.
“No, I would not lie,” Hooker said.
The jury has at this point heard from nearly 50 witnesses, dozens of recordings from wiretapped phone calls, four videos secretly recorded by Marquez, and hundreds of emails and texts. Both the government and defense have used them to educate the jury on the nature of lobbying and the reality of political work in Illinois. And, as McClain attorney Patrick Cotter warned them in his opening arguments, “some of it is not pretty.”
“Why?” Cotter said in mid-March when the trial began. “Because politics…can be raw, politics can be ugly.”
But in addition, the defense has also emphasized the monotony, hard work and frustration that goes into lobbying for the sorts of big-ticket legislation at issue in the case. Numerous witnesses testified that it took two to three years for two of the biggest bills supported by ComEd in the last decade or so to evolve from ideas on paper into law.
And sometimes, Cotter emphasized Wednesday, the brass tacks of politics and strategy in Springfield can be rather boring, if not simplistic: The thing Madigan valued most in politics was remaining speaker of the Illinois House.
“Mr. Hooker, after all those decades [of lobbying in Springfield]…did you ever, at any point, believe it was possible that Speaker Madigan would agree to trade his support for ComEd legislation in exchange for some jobs for some people he recommended?” Cotter asked. “Did you ever believe that was possible?”
Hooker said he did not.
“Did you ever believe for one minute that Speaker Madigan would risk his speakership and his power to get a few more people hired at ComEd…on a bill that the whole state was watching?” Cotter asked, his voice rising.
Again, Hooker said he did not.
Cotter asked if Hooker would’ve ever advised ComEd to bribe Madigan – “did you think that was a good idea?”
No, Hooker said.
“It was crazy, wasn’t it?” Cotter said.
“It’s a bad idea,” Hooker said.
The fourth defendant in the case, ComEd lobbyist Jay Doherty, only called one witness in his case: The Rev. Monsignor Kenneth Velo, who testified he wouldn’t be in the courtroom as Doherty’s sole character witness “if I didn’t think of John as a man of complete integrity.”
The two knew each other from Chicago’s philanthropic scene, overlapping on missions such as Misericordia and the Big Shoulders Fund. Velo, an ordained Catholic priest, is also an administrator at DePaul University.
The jury will return for closing arguments in the trial at 10 a.m. Monday.
Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service covering state government. It is distributed to hundreds of newspapers, radio and TV stations statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation, along with major contributions from the Illinois Broadcasters Foundation and Southern Illinois Editorial Association.
Local News
Shoppers welcome back Evergreen Park Farmers Market
Spread the loveBy Joe Boyle Rain was forecast for the morning of May 2, but nothing could dampen the spirits of customers who dropped by the Evergreen Park Farmers Market. The large crowd that attended were instead greeted with mostly sunny skies. Beth Novotney, director of the Evergreen Park Office of Citizen Services that oversees…
Evergreen Park recognizes police for valor
Spread the loveBy Joe Boyle The Evergreen Park police have been cited for valor after several key arrests that occurred the past couple of months. Police Chief Michael Saunders requested commendations for the officers during the Evergreen Park Village Board meeting Monday night. Mayor Kelly Burke and the board applauded the efforts of the force.…
Hickory Hills police bid adieu and say welcome
Spread the loveBy Nuha Abdessalam The Hickory Hills Police Department bid a fond farewell to Lieutenant Glenn Tienstra and welcomed new Officer Daniel Balzhiser. On a memorable Thursday evening, April 25, city hall was filled with the warmth of community family, friends, officers, and council members, all gathered to joyfully celebrate Officer Balzhiser and respectfully…
Mother Mac unveils new lights and scoreboard
Spread the loveBy Kelly White Across the nation, women’s sports are on the rise in terms of viewership, enthusiasm, sponsorship and excitement. Mother McAuley is no stranger to the impact that women’s athletics has on the development of an individual, strengthening of a team and key skills and attributes developed along the way. South Side…
Cicadas in the park in Palos Park
Spread the loveBy Kelly White Cicadas are coming and the Village of Palos Park is ready. The village hosted its 31st annual Arbor Day Celebration on Sunday, May 5, themed, “The Wonder of Trees” at The Center in the Lodge, 12700 Southwest Highway, with featured speaker, Tricia Bethke of The Morton Arboretum who presented, “Cicadas…
Palos Heights SD 128 sees enrollment boom
Spread the loveBy Kelly White Over the past few years, Palos Heights School District 128 has experienced an explosive growth among incoming students. There has been a significant increase particularly at Indian Hill Early Learning Center, 12800 S. Austin Ave. Chippewa Elementary School, 12425 S. Austin Ave; Navajo Elementary School, 12401 S. Oak Park Ave;…
Comings & Goings: Orange’s Pancake House now open in Palos Heights
Spread the loveBy Kelly White Palos Heights is the home of a popular new breakfast café. Orange’s Pancake House, 11845 Southwest Highway, held a ribbon-cutting event on April 18. Owners, Elvia Briones, of Virgina, and Fernando Cruz, of Evergreen Park, said they were very excited to be in the heart of the Palos Heights community.…
Sisters make Chicago Lawn a world destination
Spread the love. Kathy Headley Your correspondent in Chicago Lawn and Marquette Manor 6610 S. Francisco • (773) 776-7778 . Earlier this month was the Fifth Lithuanian Documentary Film Festival, with distinguished guests from Lithuania and other parts of the United States visiting the neighborhood. They held a photo session in the editorial office of…
Happy Mother’s Day to everyone, everyone
Spread the love. By Mary Stanek Your correspondent in Archer Heights and West Elsdon 3808 W. 57th Place • (773) 517-7796 . Yet another Mother’s Day is upon us. I wish everyone a happy day. By everyone I do mean everyone. There are a lot of dads who do it alone, along with important mother…
Neighbors
College Report: McAuley grad Swiatek plays hero for St. Francis
Spread the loveBy Jeff Vorva Staff Writer Hannah Swiatek comes off the bench for the University of St. Francis and is averaging 3.1 points per game. But when called on for the biggest shot of her college career, the 5-foot-8 junior guard from Oak Lawn delivered. Swiatek scored the winning basket in a wild 99-97…
Evans, Adams lead Argo past Shepard on Alumni Night
Spread the loveBy Steve Metsch Corrspondent Argo’s Davonte Evans and Will Adams both knew it was just a matter of time before the Argonauts would find a way to beat Shepard. That time came in the third quarter of a South Suburban Red matchup, when Argo outscored Shepard en rout to a 61-52 on Jan.…
Cruz booted from SD 229 school board in Oak Lawn
Spread the loveBy Dermot Connolly There is a vacancy on the Oak Lawn Community High School District 229 School Board, after members voted 6-1 last week to remove Robert Cruz for allegedly violating his oath of office, school board policy and state statutes. Cruz, a property developer, was elected to the District 229 board in…
Tax exemptions will be automatic, Kaegi says
Spread the loveFrom staff reports In response to the ongoing pandemic, the Cook County Assessor Fritz Kaegi’s office will continue the automatic renewal of the Senior Freeze, Veterans with Disabilities and Persons with Disabilities Exemptions. The Homeowner and Senior Exemptions will continue to auto-renew every year. If a homeowner received any of these five exemptions…
Oak Lawn officials rip governor, legislators over crime
Spread the loveBy Joe Boyle Two Oak Lawn officials are calling for Gov. J.B. Pritzker and local legislators to re-evaluate a police reform law that they say has resulted in a rise in crime. Trustee Alex Olejniczak (2nd) served as mayor pro-tem during the Oak Lawn Village Board meeting Tuesday night in place of Mayor Terry Vorderer,…
Troop 1441 Scout earns Eagle rank
Spread the loveFrom staff reports A journey that began years ago for Adrian Ayala recently culminated in Boy Scouting’s highest honor. Ayala, a member of Boy Scout Troop 1441 (sponsored by the St. Mary Star of the Sea Holy Name Society) was honored at an Eagle ceremony at Duggan Hall on Jan. 13. The Eagle rank…
Hog Wild to open Monday in Oak Lawn
Spread the loveBy Kelly White Dining choices will get a boost in Oak Lawn with the arrival of Hog Wild. The restaurant is scheduled to open Monday, January 17, at 4040 W. 111th St. That’s a week later than originally scheduled. “We are very fortunate here in Oak Lawn to have attracted Hog Wild,” Oak…