* Crain’s from June of 2018…

It’s a rare day when House Speaker Michael Madigan supports a measure in his chamber and it fails. So what kind of issue could create that scenario? A tax increase? Pension overhaul? Try reforming the electric-supplier industry, which should be ripe for a crackdown since it has caused a large percentage of the Chicago-area customers it serves to pay too much for power over the past few years.

The reform measure, a signature issue for Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan, fell short by just a few votes late last month thanks to staunch opposition from Exelon, which owns Constellation, the largest alternative electricity supplier in Illinois.

Also helping to defeat the bill was the Illinois Commerce Commission. The ICC, which regulates utilities and suppliers, had advocated for stronger laws but opposed this proposal because of objections to giving greater enforcement responsibilities to the attorney general’s office.

Contributing, too, to the bill’s demise was the neutral position taken by Exelon-owned Commonwealth Edison despite the fact that most consumers buying from alternative suppliers pay more for power than they would with ComEd. ComEd’s downstate counterpart, Ameren Illinois, was a full-throated supporter of the legislation.

* OK, let’s back up. From the indictment…

In or around April 2018, MADIGAN called Individual BM-1 [Juan Ochoa] and advised Individual BM-1 about the expected timing of Individual BM-1’s appointment to the ComEd board of directors.

In or around April 2018, MADIGAN gave McClain permission to work to kill HB 5626 on behalf of ComEd, and ComEd thereafter worked to defeat HB 5626.

On or about May 2, 2018, MADIGAN placed a call to McClain, and after McClain advised MADIGAN that Pramaggiore was experiencing push-back to the appointment of Individual BM-1 to the ComEd board of directors, and had proposed finding a job that would pay Individual BM-1 the same amount of money as a board member, MADIGAN instructed McClain, “Yeah, Mike, I would suggest that we continue to support [Individual BM-1].”

On or about May 16, 2018, McClain placed a telephone call to Pramaggiore during which they discussed preventing HB 5626 from being passed in the Illinois General Assembly.

On or about May 16, 2018, at approximately 10:20 a.m., MADIGAN placed a call to McClain, during which MADIGAN instructed McClain (i) to discuss Individual 23W-1 with Pramaggiore; and (ii) to “go forward with” the appointment of Individual BM-1.

On or about May 16, 2018, McClain placed a telephone call to Pramaggiore, during which call (i) Pramaggiore advised McClain that she had instructed Marquez to “hire” Individual 23W-1 after checking with Doherty; and (ii) McClain informed Pramaggiore that MADIGAN wanted to “keep pressing” for the appointment of Individual BM-1 to the ComEd board of directors, and Pramaggiore agreed to do so.

On or about May 16, 2018, McClain placed a telephone call to Marquez, during which McClain explained why certain individuals were being paid indirectly through JDDA, by making reference to their utility to MADIGAN’s political operation, and advised Marquez that Individual 23W-1 should be paid $5,000 a month. […]

On or about May 18, 2018, McClain caused an email to be sent to Pramaggiore, Hooker, and other ComEd employees referencing HB 5626 that noted “a friend of ours” had authorized McClain to “go ahead and kill it.”

On or about June 20, 2018, McClain placed a telephone call to Hooker, during which McClain stated that MADIGAN was the person who first “warned” them about HB 5626 and that MADIGAN had given ComEd permission to work to “kill” the legislation.

On or about June 29, 2018, Doherty caused an email to be sent to a ComEd employee, which made it falsely appear that the justification for an additional $5,000 a month sought under JDDA’s revised contract was because JDDA would assume an “expanded role with Cook County Board President’s office and Cook County Commissioners and Department Heads,” when in fact the additional $5,000 a month in compensation sought was intended for payment to Individual 23W-1, who performed little or no work for JDDA or ComEd. […]

On or about July 17, 2018, McClain placed a telephone call to Pramaggiore during which Pramaggiore told McClain that “we’re moving forward with [Individual BM-1]” and that McClain could tell MADIGAN. […]

On or about December 5, 2018, Marquez placed a call to McClain, during which call McClain authorized Marquez to “get rid” of Individual FR-1, meaning ComEd could discontinue making payments to Individual FR-1.

On or about December 6, 2018, McClain sent an email to Marquez and others at ComEd, in which McClain advised, in reference to the ComEd Internship Program, “I am pretty sure the ‘ask’ will be to ‘put aside’ or ‘save’ ten summer jobs for the 13th Ward.”

On or about December 7, 2018, MADIGAN placed a call to McClain, during which call MADIGAN instructed McClain to have ComEd discontinue its indirect payments to Individual 13W-3. […]

On or about February 11, 2019, McClain placed a telephone call to Hooker and the two men discussed that MADIGAN was informed of the plan to have ComEd pay Individual 13W-1 indirectly through Doherty’s lobbying firm and MADIGAN “thought it was great.”[…]

On or about February 18, 2019, Pramaggiore participated in a telephone call with Marquez, during which call, after she was told that the subcontractors associated with Doherty just “collect a check” and that Marquez needed to brief the chief executive officer of ComEd concerning the JDDA contract, Pramaggiore advised Marquez not to make any changes to the contract, because “we do not want to get caught up in a, you know, disruptive battle where, you know, somebody gets their nose out of joint and we’re trying to move somebody off, and then we get forced to give ’em a five- year contract because we’re in the middle of needing to get something done in Springfield.”

* Crain’s yesterday…

As it turned out, a bill very much like that—known now as the HEAT Act—passed the following year with the support of ComEd parent Exelon. But the circumstances, like most energy legislation in Springfield, were complicated.

ComEd, along with downstate utility Ameren Illinois, tried to tie passage of the supplier reforms to an extension of their formula rate-setting authority, which was (and still is) set to expire at the end of 2022. The new system essentially eliminated the Illinois Commerce Commission’s authority to set electricity delivery rates, instead changing them via an annual formula that the utilities wanted extended for another 10 years.

Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul, who took the lead in 2019 on the supplier crackdown, refused to allow his bill to be tied to the formula rate extension. To the surprise of veteran observers of Illinois energy politics, ComEd’s priority stalled while Raoul’s bill passed.

Later, it became clear why. In May 2019, the FBI raided the home of McClain, as well as other close associates of Madigan’s. That news became public in the summer, but no one knew of those actions in May as the spring session wound down. Madigan obviously did.