Witness: With legislation pending, Madigan's interests became Com Ed's

(The Center Square) – A former utility executive said Monday that former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan's interests became ComEd's when legislation affecting the state-regulated utility was on the line. 

Former ComEd CEO Anne Pramaggiore made it clear to employees that "what's important to the speaker is important to ComEd," the utility's former general counsel testified. 

former ComEd general counsel and Senior Vice President Tom O'Neill worked in several roles for ComEd and its parent company, Exelon, for more than a decade. 

O'Neill also testified that he felt pressured to hire the Reyes-Kurson law firm for 850 hours a year, which he said was unusual for ComEd, which generally made legal contracts with outside law firms for a flat rate rather than a set number of hours. Victor Reyes, a partner at the firm, previously worked as Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley's City Hall patronage chief. Reyes eventually became the mayor's director of intergovernmental affairs, essentially responsible for implementing the mayor's agenda in the city council, state legislature, and Congress, according to the law firm's website.

O'Neill said the request to hire the politically connected law firm came as ComEd was seeking passage of energy legislation in Springfield. 

During the first year after ComEd hired Reyes-Kurson, the firm billed far less than 850 hours. The contract expired in three years. ComEd lobbyist and Madigan co-defendant Michael McClain brought the renewal of the Reyes-Kurson contract to O'Neill's attention, O'Neill said, when another energy bill was pending in the state legislature. 

When ComEd sought to reduce Reyes-Kurson's annual hours, McClain said the utility shouldn't cut the firm's hours. O'Neill said McClain, who worked for the utility, seemed to advocate for Reyes-Kurson rather than his employer.

McClain went over O'Neill's head and emailed his boss, ComEd CEO Pramaggiore. 

"I know the drill and so do you," McClain wrote in an email 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'll call you." 

Pramaggiore responded to McClain: "Sorry. No one informed me. I am on this."

Pramaggiore forwarded the email to O'Neill without comment. He said he took that email and a follow up conversation with Pramaggiore as an order to get the contract renewal issues fixed. 

O'Neill said "our friend" was a reference to Madigan. 

Attorneys for the government showed jurors a stream of emails McClain sent to O’Neill and other ComEd executives seeking to get them to commit to obligations such as guaranteed billable hours and maximum fee amounts for the Reyes-Kurson firm. McClain routinely dropped references to Madigan in the emails.

O'Neill said he felt "persistent pressure" to get the Reyes-Kurson contract done while the Future Energy and Jobs Act was moving through the legislature in Springfield. He said the pressure was evident in the emails, especially from McClain and Pramaggiore.

O'Neill said he could have killed the Reyes-Kurson contract, but suspected the emails from McClain would continue, so he made a "judgment call with myself that I ought to try to make this work."

Defense attorneys for Madigan and McClain were relatively quiet on Monday but made multiple objections while prosecutors questioned O'Neill on direct examination. They could have their turn on cross-examination on Tuesday. 

A jury in 2023 convicted Pramaggiore and McClain for their roles in what prosecutors have alleged was a multi-year scheme to corruptly influence Madigan with $1.3 million in jobs, contracts and other benefits. McClain is again on trial, this time with Madigan, facing charges of bribery and racketeering. Pramaggiore, who is still awaiting sentencing for her earlier conviction, is visiting Italy.