CHICAGO, Ill. � One of House Speaker Mike Madigan’s closest allies, , pleaded not guilty to federal criminal charges during a virtual hearing Wednesday morning. Former Commonwealth Edison CEO Anne Pramaggiore, ex-ComEd executive John Hooker, and lobbyist Jay Doherty joined McClain. Most people expected their not guilty pleas, as defense attorneys previously declared their clients were innocent.
The group was charged last month with bribery conspiracy, bribery, and willfully falsifying ComEd and Exelon books, records, and accounts. ComEd officials named each of the individuals in their deferred prosecution agreement in July. That document detailed a bribery scheme between the utility company and Illinois statehouse from 2011-2019.
Former ComEd executive  previously pleaded guilty to his involvement in the bribery scheme. While the deferred prosecution agreement implicated Madigan as “Public Official A,� prosecutors haven’t charged the Speaker. He also continues to deny any wrongdoing.
U.S. District Judge Harry Leinenweber started the arraignment by noting he served in the state’s General Assembly as a Republican during the same period McClain served as a Democrat. Leinenweber also noted his wife served on the board for Constellation Energy. No one found those as significant issues for the case moving forward.
McClain and Pramaggiore face nine counts in the case, while Hooker and Doherty face six. Leinenweber set a status hearing for February 16 and a hearing for pretrial motions on March 3.
All roads lead to Madigan
House Republican Leader Jim Durkin didn’t wait long after the arraignment to renew his call for Madigan to resign.
“All roads in this massive and wide-ranging scandal lead to Speaker Madigan,� Durkin emphasized. “Speaker Madigan cannot, under any circumstances, continue to serve in the House of Representatives as Speaker of the House.�
Meanwhile, Gov. JB Pritzker also had a clear message for the Speaker Wednesday afternoon.
“When you serve in high office, you should be willing to answer questions from the members of your caucus, from the people of Illinois, from the reporters, and so on,� Pritzker said. “Or you shouldn’t be in office.�
The governor also highlighted time is running out for Madigan to talk, as lawmakers should return to Springfield next month to vote for their chamber’s next leader.
Madigan has already lost support from 19 members of his caucus, including Caucus Chair Kathleen Willis (D-Addison). Durkin noted he already has more votes than Madigan to become Speaker in January. However, he would need the support of 15 Democrats to secure the position along with his 45 Republican caucus members.
Yet, some of those Democrats that the next Speaker will come from their party.
Several House Democrats followed Rep. Bob Morgan’s lead by tweeting the next Speaker of the House will be a Democrat. The trend continued throughout the afternoon.
Legislative investigation on hold
“The fact that Speaker Madigan has indicated that so many of these things to him don’t actually strike him as a moral or ethical or potentially even legal problem is simply stunning in view of the materials that we have received from Commonwealth Edison,� said Rep. Deanne Mazzochi.
The Elmhurst Republican joined Durkin and Rep. Tom Demmer in calling for the Special Investigating Committee to resume meetings as soon as possible. Still, Committee Chairman Emanuel “Chris� Welch emphasized they all know the group is set to return to Springfield on December 14.
“They also know that from day one, the members of this committee have been clear that we will not interfere with ongoing federal investigations,� Welch stated. “But their only goal has been political theater, even if that means dragging this committee into the middle of the federal prosecutor’s case against ComEd associates.�
The Hillside Democrat also feels Durkin wants to turn attention away from emails showing ComEd’s attempts to influence himself.
“His constant attempts to drag a serious investigative effort into politics will not influence the work of this committee,� Welch added.
However, Demmer disagrees with Welch and Madigan’s claims that Republican actions during hearings are “political theater.�
“The myth that this is a bit of political theater is undercut every time an additional member of the Democratic party � his own party � come out and say that he’s engaged in inappropriate conduct. They will no longer support him,� the Dixon Republican explained. “They call for his resignation.�
Speaker Madigan did not release a new statement in response to the arraignment or Republican press conference.
