(The Center Square) – Anne Pramaggiore looked calm as she strolled to the witness stand late Thursday to defend herself against charges she was part of a scheme to curry favor with Illinois’ longtime former House speaker to benefit her utility company.
The former ComEd CEO and college theater major took center stage after several weeks of testimony during which prosecutors have worked to establish how she was allegedly at the center of the scheme to bribe then House Speaker Mike Madigan in exchange for his support in Springfield on legislation the company was convinced could be to its benefit.
Pramaggiore, who joins former lobbyist and Madigan confidante Michael McClain, retired ComEd executive John Hooker and one-time ComEd consultant and ex-City Club of Chicago president Jay Doherty as defendants in the high-stakes proceedings, riveted jurors from the start, telling the court she never viewed Madigan as an ally, let alone someone she could call on at any point to push the utility’s agenda.
Madigan and McClain are also set to go to trial sometime in the spring of 2024 in a separate case where Madigan faces a 23-count indictment that includes racketeering, bribery and official misconduct charges. The four currently on trial have all pleaded not guilty, with their attorneys arguing all the actions they took were legal lobbying tactics.
On Thursday, Pramaggiore sought to defend herself and her actions as they related to Madigan.
“We had mutual respect for each other,” she said in the federal courtroom of U.S. District Judge Harry Leninweber. “It was, you know, somewhat remote. I didn’t see him a lot. But when I did, I think we had regard for each other.”
Over time, the 64-year-old one-time top executive added her “professional” relationship with Madigan became cemented on a trip to Turkey sponsored by a nonprofit, adding that she’s always seen the longest-serving legislative leader in history as a “very quiet person” who “doesn’t say a lot.”
She later added that what always seemed most important to Madigan was “staying the Speaker.”
The intense-filled moments were only a prelude of what’s to come over the next several days in the proceedings, as Pramaggiore is expected to remain on the stand for the foreseeable future.
Earlier in the day, it was former ComEd CEO Joseph Dominguez testifying as he recalled how challenging it could be to get legislation moved in Springfield. Dominguez said he never got the sense ComEd had any sort of arrangement with Madigan to make that task any easier.
“I thought they were all tough,” Dominguez, now CEO of Constellation Energy Group, testified. “It wasn’t just the speaker’s office. It was the governor’s office. It was hard.”
Prior to jurors entering the courtroom on Thursday, prosecutors revealed for the first time that Pramaggiore engaged in a “proffer” session with the U.S. attorney’s office in late 2019 that generated a 33-page report from her statements put together by FBI agents.
Proffer sessions are generally viewed as a first-step in ongoing cooperation talks, including potentially entering a guilty plea. The judge later ruled that if Pramaggiore’s testimony in his courtroom fails to match up with that outlined in her proffer, prosecutors will be within their rights to move to impeach her with the FBI report.
