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Chicago Tribune
a day ago
- Business
- Chicago Tribune
Michael McClain, lobbyist and Madigan confidant at the center of the ComEd bribery scandal, finally faces sentencing
Of all the players swirling in the bribery scandal involving former House Speaker Michael Madigan, from precinct captains and political directors to legislators and lobbyists, one man held the ultimate catbird seat: Michael Francis McClain. As a longtime lobbyist for utility giant Commonwealth Edison who doubled as Madigan's closest confidant, McClain toiled for years in relative obscurity, known mostly by Springfield insiders and political reporters as the former legislator from downstate Quincy with the thick prescription glasses who always seemed to be hanging around Madigan's office suite in the Capitol. But it was through his close relationship with Illinois' most powerful and reticent politician, prosecutors say, that McClain was able to leverage knowledge of the speaker's thinking to induce ComEd executives to lavish money on Madigan's cronies and scramble to meet his myriad other demands. Now, more than two years after McClain's conviction in the historic 'ComEd Four' bribery case, McClain is scheduled to learn his fate Thursday at the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse, where he faces sentencing in what has become one of the biggest bribery scandals in state history. McClain, 77, will be the third of the four defendants to be sentenced in the case, and as with the others, U.S. District Judge Manish Shah will have wide latitude in deciding a punishment. Earlier this week, former ComEd CEO Anne Pramaggiore was given two years in prison, while John Hooker, the utility's former top internal lobbyist, received a year and a half behind bars at a hearing last week. Consultant Jay Doherty, the former head of the City Club of Chicago, will be sentenced next month. Prosecutors on Tuesday asked for a 15-month prison term for Doherty, saying his 'discreet handling and willingness to conceal the true nature' of subcontractor payments to Madigan associates were 'vitally important' to the scheme. Prosecutors have asked for nearly six years in prison for McClain, writing in a recent court filing that the 'stunning' scheme was his brainchild and was 'illegal to its core.' 'In securing benefits for both Madigan and ComEd, McClain corrupted the legislative process and the internal control processes of a large, regulated utility,' prosecutors said. 'McClain's repeated overstepping of legal lines in this case is stunning.' McClain's attorneys asked for probation, stating in a filing of their own that McClain merely passed along 'a handful of job recommendations' from Madigan because of his powerful position as speaker and the fact that they were close friends. 'Doing so was legal and constitutionally protected lobbying,' defense attorneys Patrick Cotter and David Niemeier wrote. 'The government's failure to make the critical distinction between a favor done with intent to lawfully curry favor with a public official, as opposed to the trading of gifts for actions done by that official, was at the heart of this case.' The hearing marks an important milestone in McClain's legal saga, which began in May 2019 when the feds raided his home. Four years later, in May 2023, he was found guilty on all counts in the ComEd Four trial. That was followed by another trial with Madigan himself that ended earlier this year with a jury hung on all counts against McClain. The sentencing also happens to come six years to the day that the Tribune first reported the feds were looking into thousands of dollars in checks that McClain and other ComEd-connected lobbyists had sent to Kevin Quinn, a top Madigan political operative ousted after he was accused of sexually harassing a campaign staffer. Later in 2019, the Tribune first disclosed McClain's cellphone had been wiretapped by the FBI — which ultimately formed the lynchpin of the entire investigation. In the ensuing years, Illinois has gotten to know McClain in a level of detail far beyond most criminal defendants. Through three criminal trials, including the perjury case against former Madigan chief of staff Tim Mapes, there have been dozens of wiretapped calls played in court and hundreds of his emails publicly displayed, conversations that painted a picture of how McClain used his unfettered access to Madigan to get some of Illinois' top executives to scramble to meet their demands. The wiretaps and other evidence revealed McClain's use of crude code words for Madigan, often referring to the speaker as 'our Friend' or 'Himself,' as well as his penchant for archaic military terminology, such as when he told Madigan in a retirement note he would remain 'at the bridge with my musket' for the speaker. The communications also captured McClain at his most blunt, telling Pramaggiore in an email in 2016 that ComEd's reluctance to kick more money to a Madigan-preferred law firm would have dire repercussions down the road. 'I know the drill and so do you,' he wrote to Pramaggiore. 'If you do not get involved and resolve this issue of 850 hours for his law firm per year then he will go to our Friend. Our Friend will call me and then I will call you. Is this a drill we must go through?' In his sentencing filing, McClain's attorney, Patrick Cotter, noted that witnesses at trial all testified McClain was an extremely skilled lobbyist and hard worker, someone who sought, as all good lobbyists do, to build relationships with powerful politicians and advocate his clients' positions. What's more, Cotter wrote, there was nothing illegal about his overtures, regardless of how they were articulated. 'Simply put, over almost a decade, Mr. McClain passed along and advocated for a handful of job recommendations from Madigan because of Madigan's position both as an influential member of the General Assembly and, in no small measure, because Madigan was Mr. McClain's old and close friend,' Cotter wrote. 'Doing so was legal and constitutionally protected lobbying. It should not have been treated as a crime.' Cotter also said it would be 'unjust' to make McClain a scapegoat for the state's history of political corruption or some abstract symbol 'to promote whatever current notion (prosecutors) maintain of 'good government.'' 'Mr. McClain has not held political office in over 30 years,' Cotter wrote. 'He is neither responsible for, nor is it just to punish him to any degree for generations of the way politics has been conducted by other people in this state, or practices that pre-date his birth and may, one suspects, continue in various, perhaps different, incarnations long after he is gone.' McClain and his three co-defendants — Pramaggiore, Hooker and Doherty — were convicted on all counts in May 2023 after a two-month trial. The case was then beset by a series of delays, first because of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that reset the rules for a key federal bribery statute and then again after the death of the judge who'd presided over the trial, Harry Leinenweber. The bulk of the ComEd allegations centered on a cadre of Madigan allies who were paid a total of $1.3 million from 2011 through 2019 through allegedly do-nothing consulting contracts. Among the recipients were two former aldermen, Frank Olivo and Michael Zalewski, precinct captains Ray Nice and Edward Moody, and former state Rep. Edward Acevedo. In addition, prosecutors alleged ComEd also hired a clouted law firm run by political operative Victor Reyes, distributed numerous college internships within Madigan's 13th Ward fiefdom, and backed former McPier chief Juan Ochoa, a friend of a Madigan ally, for an $80,000-a-year seat on the utility's board of directors, the indictment alleged. In return, prosecutors alleged, Madigan used his influence over the General Assembly to help ComEd score a series of huge legislative victories that not only rescued the company from financial instability but led to record-breaking, billion-dollar profits. Among them was the 2011 smart grid bill that set a built-in formula for the rates ComEd could charge customers, avoiding battles with the Illinois Commerce Commission, according to the charges. ComEd also leaned on Madigan's office to help pass the Future Energy Jobs Act in 2016, which kept the formula rate in place and also rescued two nuclear plants run by an affiliated company, Exelon Generation. Madigan, meanwhile, was convicted in a separate trial of an array of schemes that included the ComEd bribery payments. He was sentenced in June to seven and a half years in prison. Defense attorneys for the ComEd Four have repeatedly argued the government was seeking to criminalize legal lobbying and job recommendations that are at the heart of the state's legitimate political system. But prosecutors say the entire scope of the scheme is still fair game, even if the specific bribery counts were dropped — a position that Shah has agreed with.
Chicago Tribune
4 days ago
- Politics
- Chicago Tribune
‘You had the power to stop this:' Ex-ComEd CEO Anne Pramaggiore sentenced to 2 years in prison in scheme to bribe Speaker Madigan
Once a rising corporate star, former ComEd CEO Anne Pramaggiore was sentenced Monday to 2 years in federal prison for her role in an elaborate scheme to funnel more than $1.3 million and other perks to associates of then-House Speaker Michael Madigan in exchange for help with the utility's ambitious legislative agenda. In handing down the sentence, U.S. District Judge Manish Shah acknowledged Pramaggiore's transformative leadership at ComEd and her history of charitable works, but said the evidence at trial showed she also participated in a nearly decade-long scheme that undermined the public's trust in government. 'This was secretive sophisticated criminal corruption of important public policy,' Shah said. 'When it came to Mr. Madigan … you didn't think to change the culture of corruption. Instead you were all in.' Shah said the dichotomy in Pramaggiore's life led him to 'conclude that people like you, good people in positions of power and authority, need to be deterred too.' 'You had the power to stop this,' the judge said. 'You could have said 'No, this is not how legislation should be done.' You had the power to change the culture at ComEd.' He also found that she had lied repeatedly during her testimony at trial, particularly in denying knowledge of the connection of ComEd's no-work subcontractors to the powerful Democratic speaker and telling the jury she made no effort to cover it up. Pramaggiore, who turns 67 in two weeks, showed little outward reaction as Shah announced his sentence, which also included a $750,000 fine. A few minutes earlier, Pramaggiore had been given the chance to address the judge but declined to do so. 'Thank you your honor. I will stand on my able attorney's commentary and submissions,' she said while remaining seated at the defense table. Shah ordered Pramaggiore to report to prison by Dec. 1. However her attorney, Scott Lassar, told the judge he will ask for Pramaggiore to remain free on bond pending appeal, given what he said are significant legal issues in the case. Shah asked Lassar to submit something in writing in three weeks. After the hearing, Pramaggiore walked out of the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse without comment. Lassar also declined to make a statement to reporters. The defense later issued a statement through a spokesman maintaining Pramaggiore's innocence and vowing to appeal all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court if necessary. 'We are disappointed by the sentence imposed today,' the statement read. 'It is nearly impossible to reconcile the sentence — two years in prison — with the federal Probation Department's recommendation of no jail time and probation.' The sentencing comes more than two years after Pramaggiore's conviction in the 'ComEd Four' case, one of the biggest political corruption scandals in state history. Last week, her former colleague, ex-ComEd executive John Hooker, was given to a year and a half in prison. Sentencing for the other two defendants, Michael McClain and Jay Doherty, remain pending. The investigation, which came to light more than six years ago, ended Pramaggiore's stellar career in Chicago's male-dominated C-suite corporate world, where she'd recently been named chief executive of Exelon, a major Fortune 100 energy company that delivered power to millions of customers in the Chicago area and beyond. Prosecutors asked for a stiff prison term of almost 6 years and a $1.75 million fine, writing in a recent filing that despite all her success, money and professional status, 'she made the choice to participate in a years-long conspiracy that corrupted the legislative process in Springfield' and subverted her own company's internal controls. In asking for a 70-month prison term, Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sarah Streicker, Julia Schwartz and Diane MacArthur also wrote that Pramaggiore lied repeatedly in her testimony during the 2023 trial. which ended in sweeping guilty verdicts. 'She could have remained silent,' Streicker argued in court Monday. 'She had every right to do so, but instead she chose to try and obstruct the jury's process…With her back against the wall she chose to testify and lie in order to protect herself.' Pramaggiore's attorneys, meanwhile, argued for probation, writing in a court filing of their own that the conduct for which she was convicted was 'a true aberration' in an otherwise exemplary life, not only in her professional path but also in her dedication to her family and charitable works. They also submitted nearly a hundred letters from friends and supporters attesting to her good character. 'She has lost her reputation, her career, and her law license, and she faces even more potential consequences, including further enforcement actions,' Lassar wrote in a 49-page filing. 'Imposing a prison sentence that takes her away from her family, friends, and community will not serve the ends of justice.' In court Monday, Lassar argued the arrangement to pay Madigan's associates as subcontractors 'was set up by other people,' including McClain, Hooker and former ComEd CEO Frank Clark, who preceded Pramaggiore. Lassar said ComEd's Smart Grid legislation, which was at the center of the alleged bribery scheme, only became law because of years of tough negotiating and broad coalition building in Springfield, bringing in including big labor, environmentalists, and myriad legislative caucuses. 'She never asked Madigan for help in passing legislation,' Lassar said. '…And she was never aware that Madigan helped do anything to get it passed.' Pramaggiore and her three co-defendants — McClain, a former ComEd lobbyist and longtime Madigan confidant, Hooker, who was ComEd's vice president for legislative affairs, and Doherty, a consultant and former City Club of Chicago leader — were convicted on all counts in May 2023 after a two-month trial. The case was then beset by a series of delays, first due to a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that reset the rules for a key federal bribery statute and then again after the death of the judge who'd presided over the trial, Harry Leinenweber. After he was selected to take over the case, Shah earlier this year tossed the underlying bribery counts due to the Supreme Court's decision, but kept intact the main conspiracy count as well as guilty verdicts for falsifying ComEd's books and records, which were charged under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. In their statement Monday, Pramaggiore's legal team referenced both the Supreme Court's decision and President Donald Trump's recent pausing of enforcement of the FCPA, citing overreach and prosecutorial abuse. 'That has happened here,' the statement read. 'Ms. Pramaggiore faces jail despite the documents at issue being true. Chicago is not a foreign jurisdiction…There is nothing foreign or corrupt about the facts here.' The bulk of the ComEd allegations centered on a cadre of Madigan allies who were paid a total of $1.3 million from 2011 through 2019 through allegedly do-nothing consulting contracts. Among the recipients were two former aldermen, Frank Olivo and Michael Zalewski, precinct captains Ray Nice and Edward Moody, and former state Rep. Edward Acevedo. In addition, prosecutors alleged ComEd also hired a clouted law firm run by political operative Victor Reyes, distributed numerous college internships within Madigan's 13th Ward fiefdom, and backed former McPier chief Juan Ochoa, a friend of a Madigan ally, for an $80,000-a-year seat on the utility's board of directors, the indictment alleged. In return, prosecutors alleged, Madigan used his influence over the General Assembly to help ComEd score a series of huge legislative victories that not only rescued the company from financial instability but led to record-breaking, billion-dollar profits. Among them was the 2011 smart grid bill that set a built-in formula for the rates ComEd could charge customers, avoiding battles with the Illinois Commerce Commission, according to the charges. ComEd also leaned on Madigan's office to help pass the Future Energy Jobs Act in 2016, which kept the formula rate in place and also rescued two nuclear plants run by an affiliated company, Exelon Generation. Pramaggiore is the second of the ComEd Four to be sentenced. Shah handed a 1 1/2-year prison term to Hooker last week. A hearing for McClain, a retired ComEd lobbyist who doubled as Madigan's right-hand man, will be sentenced Thursday, while the fourth defendant, Doherty, is scheduled to be sentenced in August. Madigan, meanwhile, was convicted in a separate trial of an array of schemes that included the ComEd bribery payments. He was sentenced in June to seven and a half years in prison. Defense attorneys for the ComEd Four have repeatedly argued the government was seeking to criminalize legal lobbying and job recommendations that are at the heart of the state's legitimate political system. They ripped the government's star witness, former ComEd executive Fidel Marquez, as a liar and opportunist who was so terrified when FBI agents confronted him in January 2019 that he flipped without even consulting a lawyer and also agreed to secretly record his friends. Marquez testified in March 2023 that the roster of 'subcontractors' hired by ComEd was curated by McClain and read like a who's who of Madigan's vaunted political operation, including two legendary precinct captains, a former assistant majority leader in the House and two former Chicago aldermen at the center of Madigan's Southwest Side base of power. Over the course of eight years, ComEd paid them hundreds of thousands of dollars, even though they had no particular expertise and ultimately did virtually no work for the utility. Some seemed to be downright incompetent, Marquez told the jury. On cross-examination, Marquez, who pleaded guilty to bribery conspiracy and is awaiting sentencing, acknowledged there was 'no guarantee' that Madigan was going to help pass ComEd bills. But he added the company still tried to make Madigan happy because 'not doing it would cause us to be negatively looked on by' the speaker. He also admitted he initially told the FBI he didn't believe any of it was bribery. Pramaggiore's lawyers argued in their sentencing memo that she should be punished only for the remaining counts of conviction, which all have to do with falsifying ComEd's books. But prosecutors say the entire scope of the scheme is still fair game, even if the specific bribery counts were dropped — a position that Shah has agreed with. At Hooker's sentencing July 14, Shah said the evidence at trial showed the four co-defendants 'were jointly undertaking the quid pro quo bribery of Mr. Madigan, paying out his cronies in exchange for favorable official action.' 'The instructional error doesn't change my factual assessment,' Shah said. 'Not only could a jury reach that conclusion, I reached that conclusion based on my own review.
CBS News
4 days ago
- Politics
- CBS News
Former ComEd CEO Anne Pramaggiore sentenced to 2 years for bribery charges linked to Michael Madigan
Former ComEd CEO Anne Pramaggiore was sentenced to two years in prison Monday for bribery charges connected to former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan. Pramaggiore was one of the "ComEd Four" that were convicted last year of charges of conspiracy, bribery and falsifying documents. Prosecutors accused Pramaggiore, former lobbyist Michael McClain, retired ComEd vice president John Hooker and former consultant Jay Doherty of using their influence to reward Madigan and his associates for about eight years beginning in 2011. In return, prosecutors said Madigan would help them pass legislation beneficial to ComEd. Sentencing was delayed as the defendants tried to get a federal judge to dismiss all charges against them after the U.S. Supreme Court issues a ruling that narrowed the scope for federal criminal anti-corruption laws, but it did not work. Monday Pramaggiore was sentenced to 24 months in prison and a $750,000 fine. Last week, Hooker was sentenced to 18 months in prison. Madigan was convicted of bribery, conspiracy and fraud charges in a separate trial and sentenced to a seven and a half years in prison plus a $2.5 million fine in June.
Chicago Tribune
4 days ago
- Business
- Chicago Tribune
Once a rising corporate star, ex-ComEd CEO Anne Pramaggiore faces sentencing in scheme to bribe Speaker Madigan
Six years ago, Anne Pramaggiore was still a rising star in Chicago's male-dominated C-suite corporate world, the newly minted chief executive of a major Fortune 100 energy company that delivered power to millions of customers in the Chicago area and beyond. But her career went into free fall when it was revealed in 2019 that she and others at Commonwealth Edison were under investigation in an elaborate scheme to bribe then-House Speaker Michael Madigan and win his help with the utility giant's ambitious legislative agenda in Springfield. On Monday, after years of delay, Pramaggiore's long legal saga is finally coming full circle as a judge is set to sentence her for her conviction in one of the biggest political corruption scandals in state history. Prosecutors are asking for a stiff prison term of almost 6 years and a $1.75 million fine, writing in a recent filing that despite all her success,, money and professional status, 'she made the choice to participate in a years-long conspiracy that corrupted the legislative process in Springfield' and subverted her own company's internal controls. In asking for a 70-month prison term, Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sarah Streicker, Julia Schwartz and Diane MacArthur also wrote in a court filing earlier this month that Pramaggiore lied repeatedly in her testimony during the 2023 'ComEd Four' trial. which ended in sweeping guilty verdicts for Pramaggiore and her three co-defendants. The feds said Pramaggiore's lies extended far beyond a general denial of knowledge of the scheme and involved a number of specific material matters, including whether she intentionally kept details about more than $1.3 million in subcontractor payments to Madigan allies off of ComEd's books, and whether she knew that they were doing little or no work for the company. 'Pramaggiore could have remained silent, but instead chose to try to obstruct the jury's process,' the prosecution filing stated. 'Pramaggiore's lies demonstrate a lack of integrity and candor, and her interest in prioritizing her own self-interest over the truth.' Her attorneys, meanwhile, argued for probation, writing in a court filing of their own that the conduct for which she was convicted was 'a true aberration' in an otherwise exemplary life, not only in her professional path but also in her dedication to her family and charitable works. They also submitted nearly a hundred letters from friends and supporters attesting to her good character. 'She has lost her reputation, her career, and her law license, and she faces even more potential consequences, including further enforcement actions,' Pramaggiore's legal team, headed by Scott Lassar, wrote in their 49-page filing. 'Imposing a prison sentence that takes her away from her family, friends, and community will not serve the ends of justice.' Pramaggiore and her three co-defendants — former ComEd lobbyist and longtime Madigan confidant Michael McClain, ex-ComEd executive John Hooker, and consultant and former City Club of Chicago leader Jay Doherty — were convicted on all counts in May 2023 after a two-month trial. The case was then beset by a series of delays, first due to a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that reset the rules for a key federal bribery statute and then again after the death of the judge who'd presided over the trial, Harry Leinenweber. After he was selected to take over the case, U.S. District Judge Manish Shah earlier this year tossed the underlying bribery counts due to the Supreme Court's decision, but kept intact the main conspiracy count and denied defense requests to delay the sentencing hearings any further. The bulk of the ComEd allegations centered on a cadre of Madigan allies who were paid a total of $1.3 million from 2011 through 2019 through allegedly do-nothing consulting contracts. Among the recipients were two former aldermen, Frank Olivo and Michael Zalewski, precinct captains Ray Nice and Edward Moody, and former state Rep. Edward Acevedo. In addition, prosecutors alleged ComEd also hired a clouted law firm run by political operative Victor Reyes, distributed numerous college internships within Madigan's 13th Ward fiefdom, and backed former McPier chief Juan Ochoa, a friend of a Madigan ally, for an $80,000-a-year seat on the utility's board of directors, the indictment alleged. In return, prosecutors alleged, Madigan used his influence over the General Assembly to help ComEd score a series of huge legislative victories that not only rescued the company from financial instability but led to record-breaking, billion-dollar profits. Among them was the 2011 smart grid bill that set a built-in formula for the rates ComEd could charge customers, avoiding battles with the Illinois Commerce Commission, according to the charges. ComEd also leaned on Madigan's office to help pass the Future Energy Jobs Act in 2016, which kept the formula rate in place and also rescued two nuclear plants run by an affiliated company, Exelon Generation. Pramaggiore is the second of the ComEd Four to be sentenced. Shah handed a 1 1/2-year prison term to Hooker last week. A hearing for McClain, a retired ComEd lobbyist who doubled as Madigan's right-hand man, will be sentenced Thursday, while the fourth defendant, Doherty, is scheduled to be sentenced in August. Madigan, meanwhile, was convicted in a separate trial of an array of schemes that included the ComEd bribery payments. He was sentenced in June to seven and a half years in prison. Defense attorneys for the ComEd Four have repeatedly argued the government was seeking to criminalize legal lobbying and job recommendations that are at the heart of the state's legitimate political system. They ripped the government's star witness, former ComEd executive Fidel Marquez, as a liar and opportunist who was so terrified when FBI agents confronted him in January 2019 that he flipped without even consulting a lawyer and also agreed to secretly record his friends. Marquez testified in March 2023 that the roster of 'subcontractors' hired by ComEd was curated by McClain and read like a who's who of Madigan's vaunted political operation, including two legendary precinct captains, a former assistant majority leader in the House and two former Chicago aldermen at the center of Madigan's Southwest Side base of power. Over the course of eight years, ComEd paid them hundreds of thousands of dollars, even though they had no particular expertise and ultimately did virtually no work for the utility. Some seemed to be downright incompetent, Marquez told the jury. On cross-examination, Marquez, who pleaded guilty to bribery conspiracy and is awaiting sentencing, acknowledged there was 'no guarantee' that Madigan was going to help pass ComEd bills. But he added the company still tried to make Madigan happy because 'not doing it would cause us to be negatively looked on by' the speaker. He also admitted he initially told the FBI he didn't believe any of it was bribery. Pramaggiore's lawyers argued in their sentencing memo that she should be punished only for the remaining counts of conviction, which all have to do with falsifying ComEd's books. But prosecutors say the entire scope of the scheme is still fair game, even if the specific bribery counts were dropped — a position that Shah has so far agreed with. At Hooker's sentencing July 14, Shah said the evidence at trial showed the four co-defendants 'were jointly undertaking the quid pro quo bribery of Mr. Madigan, paying out his cronies in exchange for favorable official action.' 'The instructional error doesn't change my factual assessment,' Shah said. 'Not only could a jury reach that conclusion, I reached that conclusion based on my own review.
Chicago Tribune
14-07-2025
- Politics
- Chicago Tribune
Ex-ComEd lobbyist John Hooker sentenced to 1 1/2 years in prison for scheme to bribe ex-Speaker Michael Madigan
Former Commonwealth Edison lobbyist John Hooker was sentenced to a year and a half in prison for his role in an elaborate scheme to funnel $1.3 million to associates of then-House Speaker Michael Madigan in exchange for the powerful Democrat's help with the utility's legislative agenda in Springfield. In imposing the sentence, U.S. District Judge Manish Shah told Hooker it was 'imperative to wipe away the notion' that his actions were merely lobbying a public official. 'It is important for the punishment to reflect this was corruption of consequential public policy, far-reaching legislation and legislative functions,' Shah said. He also told Hooker that he could have stopped the scheme — or at least decided not to go along with it. 'It takes courage to speak up, to say no in the face of power like Mr. Madigan's,' Shah said. 'It's easy to say yes when you have the talent and the wherewithal to play within the corrupt system. 'You had the power to stop this,' Shah said. 'To do business with corrupt power encourages it.' Hooker, 76, is the first of the so-called ComEd Four defendants to be sentenced, more than two years after their landmark trial ended in sweeping guilty verdicts. Sentencing hearings for former ComEd CEO Anne Pramaggiore and lobbyist Michael McClain, who was Madigan's top confidant, are set for next week. The fourth defendant, consultant and former City Club of Chicago head Jay Doherty, is scheduled to be sentenced in August. Madigan, meanwhile, was convicted in a separate trial of an array of schemes that included the ComEd bribery payments. He was sentenced earlier this month to 7 1/2 years in prison. Federal prosecutors had asked for nearly five years in prison for Hooker. His attorneys requested just a year of probation, citing their client's his age, his lack of criminal history and saying there was zero risk he would commit a crime again. They also submitted dozens of character letters from people of all walks of life attesting to Hooker's history of generosity and selflessness. But in asking for a 56-month prison term, prosecutors wrote that Hooker — a top internal lobbyist at ComEd known for his quippy 'Hookerisms' such as: 'That which is understood need not be mentioned' — was instrumental in devising the plan to funnel the payments to ghost 'subcontractors' who were actually cronies in the 13th Ward organization Madigan ran. Hooker was even captured on an FBI wiretap bragging about the arrangement with McClain. 'We came up with this plan and between him, our friend, and, uh, Tim (Mapes), and the alderman (Frank Olivo), they thought it was great,' Hooker told McClain on the recording. 'Hooker's criminal conduct, designed to give ComEd an improper 'leg up' in its legislation, is extremely serious, as he deceived internal auditors, rate payers and shareholders and abused the highest levels of state government,' wrote Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sarah Streicker, Diane MacArthur and Julia Schwartz in their 52-page filing. Prosecutors also said Hooker repeatedly perjured himself when he testified in his own defense at trial, including when he told the jury that he hired Madigan's 13th Ward associates for their 'value' to ComEd. 'They had no relevant experience and were not needed by the company,' the prosecution memo stated. 'Instead, their true 'value' was to Madigan.' Hooker and his three co-defendants were convicted on all counts in May 2023 after a two-month trial. Shah later tossed some of those counts due to a U.S. Supreme Court ruling last year, but denied defense requests to delay the sentencing hearings any further. In addition to the scheme to pay Madigan-related subcontractors, prosecutors alleged ComEd also hired a clouted law firm run by political operative Victor Reyes, distributed numerous college internships within Madigan's 13th Ward fiefdom, and backed former McPier chief Juan Ochoa, the friend of a Madigan ally, for an $80,000-a-year seat on the utility's board of directors, the indictment alleged. In return, prosecutors alleged, Madigan used his influence over the General Assembly to help ComEd score a series of huge legislative victories that not only rescued the company from financial instability but led to record-breaking, billion-dollar profits. Among them was the 2011 smart grid bill that set a built-in formula for the rates ComEd could charge customers, avoiding battles with the Illinois Commerce Commission, according to the charges. ComEd also leaned on Madigan's office to help pass the Future Energy Jobs Act in 2016, which kept the formula rate in place and also rescued two nuclear plants run by an affiliated company, Exelon Generation. In her 71-page sentencing filing, Hooker's attorney, Jacqueline Jacobson, chronicled his inspirational life story, rising from the violence and poverty of Chicago's West Side and later battling the 'pervasive discrimination of corporate America in the 1960s' to become a top executive at a Fortune 500 utility. Jacobson also downplayed the seriousness of Hooker's offense, writing that he 'faces jail for books and records violations that occurred five years after he retired from ComEd, for which he received no benefit.' 'From acting as a surrogate father, to serving as a role model, to helping neighbors and friends, John has dedicated his life to changing people's lives for the better,' the defense memo stated. 'The guilty verdict is the antithesis to an otherwise praiseworthy life filled with repeated and continuous good deeds, selflessness, and ethical conduct.' At trial, defense attorneys argued repeatedly that the government is seeking to criminalize legal lobbying and job recommendations that are at the heart of the state's legitimate political system. They ripped the government's star witness, former ComEd executive Fidel Marquez, as a liar and opportunist who was so terrified when FBI agents confronted him in January 2019 that he flipped without even consulting a lawyer and agreed to secretly record his friends. Marquez testified in March 2023 that the roster of 'subcontractors' hired by ComEd was curated by McClain and read like a who's who of Madigan's vaunted political operation, including two legendary precinct captains, a former assistant majority leader in the House and two former Chicago aldermen at the center of Madigan's Southwest Side base of power. Over the course of eight years, ComEd paid them hundreds of thousands of dollars, even though they had no particular expertise and ultimately did virtually no work for the utility. Some seemed to be downright incompetent, Marquez told the jury. On cross-examination, Marquez, who pleaded guilty to bribery conspiracy and is awaiting sentencing, acknowledged that there was 'no guarantee' that Madigan was going to help pass ComEd bills, but added that the company still tried to make him happy because 'not doing it would cause us to be negatively looked on by' the speaker. He also admitted that he initially told the FBI he didn't believe any of it was bribery. 'I know that they were brought on as a favor to Michael Madigan,' Marquez testified on direct examination. 'For Madigan to see ComEd positively. So that he could perhaps be helpful for our legislative agenda in Springfield.' Hooker, meanwhile, took a huge risk and testified in his own defense. Under questioning by McClain's attorney, Patrick Cotter, Hooker agreed that the scheme as alleged by prosecutors sounded preposterous. 'In all your years of experience, did you ever think for one minute that Mike Madigan would risk his speakership and his power to get a few more people some jobs at ComEd?' Cotter asked, his voice rising to a shout. 'Some summer interns? … Anybody?' 'No, I did not,' Hooker answered. 'It's a crazy idea, isn't it?' Cotter shot back. 'It's a bad idea,' Hooker agreed. Hooker was also taken through transcripts, read in court line by line, of the wiretapped recordings at the center of the case, explaining what he meant down to the word. He was even at one point asked to explain why he laughed at certain points in the calls. McClain, in one of the recordings, for instance, told Hooker: 'We had to hire these guys because Mike Madigan came to us. It's that simple.' Hooker testified he didn't believe it was true that they 'had' to hire anyone. 'To me, that's just me and McClain joshing around,' he said. In their memo Monday, prosecutors singled out that statement Hooker made in court and said it was an obvious lie. 'Hooker verbally agreed with (McClain) when he thought nobody was listening,' prosecutors wrote. 'His agreement is consistent with the behavior of the conspirators who continued to advocate for the payment of the subcontractors to prevent Madigan from taking retributive action against ComEd.' Hooker's lawyers denied that he lied about that or anything else, arguing in their memo that he should not be punished for exercising his constitutional right to testify and that failing to recall past events accurately is not enough to prove perjury. 'The obstruction of justice enhancement requires a finding of willfulness, not confusion, mistake, or faulty memory,' Jacobson wrote.
