* WBEZ…
Federal prosecutors late Friday filed one count of conspiracy to commit bribery against Commonwealth Edison’s former chief lobbyist, a one-time powerhouse in Springfield whom Speaker Michael Madigan invited as his personal guest to House inauguration festivities last year.
Named in the four-page federal filing was Fidel Marquez, ComEd’s former senior vice president of governmental and external affairs from 2012 until his abrupt and unexplained departure from the company last September.
The specific kind of court filing naming Marquez is indicative of a likely guilty plea and is a clear tightening of the federal probe into potential wrongdoing by the longest-serving House speaker in American history.
Documents obtained Friday by WBEZ through an open-records request to the speaker’s office showed that Madigan issued a personal invitation to Marquez to attend January 2019 House inauguration ceremonies as the speaker’s guest, underscoring the close personal relationship between the two.
* The document…
* Tribune…
The Chicago Tribune reported last year that Marquez was a focus of the federal investigation, as is former ComEd CEO Anne Pramaggiore, who abruptly retired last year. Pramaggiore has not been charged. A Pramaggiore spokesman has said that she “has done nothing wrong and any inference to the contrary is misguided and false.”
Prosecutors have said ComEd’s scheme began around 2011 — when key regulatory matters were before the Illinois House that Madigan controls — and continued through last year.
Many of the illegal payments allegedly were arranged by downstate lobbyist Michael McClain, a key confidant and adviser at the center of the probe, according to court records. McClain also has not been charged.
One example cited in ComEd’s deferred prosecution agreement involved a man identified as “Consultant 1,” who allegedly was speaking to a ComEd executive identified by the Tribune as Marquez. The consultant said he believed McClain had spoken to Madigan about the payments, saying the money was “to keep (Public Official A) happy (and) I think it’s worth it, because you’d hear otherwise,” prosecutors alleged.
* Sun-Times…
ComEd spokeswoman Shannon Breymaier issued this statement Friday night: “We are not in a position to comment on specific matters related to this former ComEd executive or beyond what is in the statement of facts in ComEd’s deferred prosecution agreement.”
A spokeswoman for Madigan, asked to comment Friday night, sent an email with an earlier statement maintaining Madigan’s innocence in the ongoing case:
“The speaker has never helped someone find a job with the expectation that the person would not be asked to perform work by their employer, nor did he ever expect to provide anything to a prospective employer if it should choose to hire a person he recommended. He has never made a legislative decision with improper motives and has engaged in no wrongdoing here. Any claim to the contrary is unfounded.”
* Another WBEZ piece…
“This is an unequivocal indication that Marquez is cooperating,” said Juliet Sorensen, a Northwestern University law professor and a former federal prosecutor who investigated corruption cases. […]
The feds’ deal with ComEd and the new case against Marquez are “signals by the U.S. attorney’s office that more is in the works,” Sorensen said.
“I expect that this is the tip of the iceberg,” she said. […]
In his final role at ComEd, Marquez helped win approval for massive state subsidies for nuclear power plants. The legislation, approved in 2016, was one of two landmark bills that greatly enhanced ComEd’s bottom line during the bribery scheme in Springfield, according to federal court records.
In a photo from a news conference that touted the measure’s passage, Marquez appears with three prominent Democratic lawmakers. Two of those three Springfield politicians — Martin Sandoval and Luis Arroyo — also got charged with corruption in the past year and have stepped down.
- Southern Skeptic - Tuesday, Sep 8, 20 @ 3:06 am:
Fidel is the first of many. And it was well known that he was cooperating. While meaningful, the real question is what happens with ComEd fall guy and former CEO Ann Pramaggiore. And do the Feds care about other corruption or just the Speaker. In other words, is this about making change in Springfield or just getting a political scalp.
- Just Me 2 - Tuesday, Sep 8, 20 @ 9:12 am:
When reading the Speaker’s response to the impeachment resolution all I could think was how much he sounded like Blagojevich.
- Powdered Whig - Tuesday, Sep 8, 20 @ 10:08 am:
=== When reading the Speaker’s response to the impeachment resolution all I could think was how much he sounded like Blagojevich. ===
First off, its not an impeachment resolution, its a resolution to initiate an investigative committee.
Second of all, there is nothing similar between the Speaker and Blagojevich. I understand you dislike the Speaker and such a statement fits your narrative, but I don’t see the Speaker running around on reality tv and making a mockery of various processes.
- Southside Markie - Tuesday, Sep 8, 20 @ 10:25 am:
== said Juliet Sorensen, a Northwestern University law professor and a former federal prosecutor ==
Interesting, irrelevant, historical sidenote: She’s the daughter of JFK speechwriter/confidante, Theodore Sorensen.
- LarryLitesOut - Tuesday, Sep 8, 20 @ 10:37 am:
Perhaps another segment to share the Champaign News Gazette weekend editorial “…No one should kid themselves about the nature of this inquiry. It is, as Madigan charged, a “stunt,” political theater designed to score points in advance of the November election….”
Perhaps this might
- Lucky Pierre - Tuesday, Sep 8, 20 @ 11:13 am:
Back in realville the question is what happens to Speaker Madigan and his lieutenants.
Since the briber has pleaded guilty there was obviously someone across the table taking the bribes
- Powdered Whig - Tuesday, Sep 8, 20 @ 11:32 am:
=== Since the briber has pleaded guilty there was obviously someone across the table taking the bribes ===
Not so obvious or the charges would have been filed already. I understand, however that this will be Lucky Pierre’s drumbeat through the November election. Nevertheless, it seems like Dems will pick off more seats anyway. Oh the irony.
- Lucky Pierre - Tuesday, Sep 8, 20 @ 12:23 pm:
Patience is a virtue Powdered Whig.
The wheels of justice in a Federal investigation move slowly but they do move.
Do you think a cooperating witness who pleads guilty can sing like a canary?
- Southern Skeptic - Tuesday, Sep 8, 20 @ 12:47 pm:
“Do you think a cooperating witness who pleads guilty can sing like a canary?”
Yes, but as I mentioned above, he’s been cooperating for more than a year so who knows how useful he’s been. A lot of these decisions were below his paygrade. Way below.
- Last Bull Moose - Tuesday, Sep 8, 20 @ 1:14 pm:
We need people in jail. Fines on corporations will not change behavior.
- anon1 - Wednesday, Sep 9, 20 @ 11:20 am:
Lucky: Do you think the Speaker ever explicitly said there was a quid pro quo, the way former Rep. Arroyo did? I highly doubt it.