(The Center Square) – Former Commonwealth Edison CEO Anne Pramaggiore told jurors in the utility bribery case Monday that she operated ethically and never tried to bribe former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan or anyone else.
Pramaggiore, 64, spent most of the day on the witness stand in Judge Harry Leinenweber’s courtroom to counter weeks of testimony from former lobbyists, utility executives and dozens of wiretapped phone calls presented by prosecutors.
Prosecutors charged Pramaggiore, longtime Madigan associate and former state lawmaker Michael McClain, longtime ComEd lobbyist John Hooker and former ComEd contract lobbyist Jay Doherty with conspiracy, bribery, and willfully falsifying ComEd books and records. All four have pleaded not guilty.
Pramaggiore said she was unaware that former Madigan associates had been paid $4,000 to $5,000 a month for years under several different lobbying contracts despite doing little, if any, work for the company. She testified that a lot happened at the Fortune 100 company that she didn’t know about. As the chief executive at the state-regulated utility – which served about 4 million customers, employed 6,000 people in Illinois, and had a budget of between $2.5 billion to $3 billion – she was busy. She said she usually got up around 4 a.m. and was at the office by 6 a.m. If she went out to lunch, it was for a meeting. On shorter days, she would end work around 7:30 p.m. or 8 p.m. On longer ones, events or company functions would keep her out well into the evening hours.
She told the court that she was too busy to read the hundreds of emails she got each day, delve into contracts or read forms. She testified that she didn’t even read the CEO budget, which contained co-defendant Doherty’s $400,000-a-year lobbying contract. She said she had finance people who managed that.
Pramaggiore said she never tried to bribe Madigan, always strived to act ethically and never tried to hide anything.
She said she did hire some of the people who McClain recommended on behalf of Madigan but never in an effort to influence the speaker. She said the company’s legislative strategy was to gather a coalition together to force legislative leaders to call favorable bills for a vote and to work with lobbyists and constituents to block unfavorable bills.
“Legislation had to stand on its own,” she said. “It had to meet the needs of the situation in Springfield.”
Prosecutors allege the four gave out $1.3 million in jobs, contracts, and payments in exchange for favorable treatment on legislation affecting the utility in Springfield.
Earlier in the trial, Fidel Marquez, former ComEd executive, testified that rewards for associates of Madigan were disguised through a series of contracts. Marquez, who served as the utility’s senior vice president of governmental and external affairs from 2012 to 2019, said those associates didn’t do any lobbying work for the utility but were paid to curry favor with Madigan. Marquez pleaded guilty to bribery charges in September 2020 and cooperated with investigators, including secretly recording phone calls and meetings with the defendants.
The former speaker isn’t on trial until next year. He faces 22 corruption-related counts.
Marquez said Madigan “wielded immense power” over the Illinois House. As speaker, he had the power to control which bills were called for a vote and which measures died in committee. Marquez said it was difficult to get legislation passed without Madigan’s support.
Pramaggiore didn’t see things that way. She testified ComEd had a robust legislative strategy that relied on many lawmakers, civic groups and other stakeholders. She said McClain never threatened her with anything except more pestering about jobs or contracts.
Pramaggiore faced questions on cross-examination from the attorneys of her co-defendants late Monday afternoon. Prosecutors are expected to begin their cross-examination Tuesday morning.
