* Hannah Meisel’s story shows yet again how important it was for the General Assembly to finally mandate lobbyists to disclose their “consultants”…

But a little over two weeks after Mapes’ firing, Anne Pramaggiore told one of her most trusted deputies within electric utility ComEd that she kept “thinking about how we can be helpful to him.”

Pramaggiore was less than a week into her new job as CEO of Exelon Utilities – a promotion after six years as CEO of ComEd, where she’d gotten to know Mapes after years of pushing for legislation in Springfield. […]

“I was talking with Anne and she told me that she’s looking at…doing something for the enterprise and governmental stuff and bringing Mapes on,” Hooker told Marquez. “Now Mapes would work with her, cause she says, ‘I wanted to kinda, well let’s pay him but hide his contract in someone else’s.’”

Hooker told Marquez he’d suggested putting him on as a consultant with Mike McClain, a longtime contract lobbyist for ComEd who was also one of Madigan’s closest friends and confidants.

McClain was no longer a registered lobbyist at that time, but, if memory serves, Mapes did eventually land at a lobbying firm as a consultant. Look, hire who you want to hire, but disclose it.

* These guys were relentless…

In multiple emails, McClain made it clear that Madigan had inquired repeatedly about making sure that the law firm of Morgan Murphy, a former congressman, would keep getting legal business from ComEd.

A tranche of emails were introduced as McClain pushed for Kathleen Laski, the wife of the former city clerk who went to prison for corruption, to get a position with the utility company even though she didn’t want to work extra hours during storms.

“Kathy doesn’t want to work storm duty?? Really?” a ComEd human resources official wrote in one email, asking who sent her. Marquez wrote back: “Laski came to us from the Speaker.”

* True…

Marquez says McClain told him what mattered most to Madigan was organized labor, the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association and, most importantly, staying speaker.

— Jon Seidel (@SeidelContent) March 30, 2023

* Also true…

Also, he agreed that the "single most valuable, important, most reliable source of information or intelligence about what Madigan's position might be on any issue was Mike McClain."

— Jon Seidel (@SeidelContent) March 30, 2023

* Rent-a-pastor is an old tradition among utility companies and others…

We're now reviewing McClain's proposed strategy for defeating the so-called Harmon-Burke energy bill, which ComEd feared in 2017 would undo parts of FEJA.

McClain wanted to bring in ministers, the Black and Latino caucuses, local governments, vendors and others.

— Jon Seidel (@SeidelContent) March 30, 2023

* Isabel’s roundup…

* Sun-Times | Defense finally gets crack at feds’ key witness in ComEd bribery trial, says he was ‘scared’ when FBI agents came to his door: Jurors at the Dirksen Federal Courthouse saw video of that moment Wednesday as Assistant U.S. Attorney Amarjeet Bhachu ended his 13-hour direct-examination of Marquez, who weeks before munching on the Saputo’s pizza had agreed to cooperate with investigators and secretly record McClain and three others now on trial for trying to bribe Madigan to benefit ComEd.

* Hannah Meisel | Former ComEd CEO sought soft landing for Madigan chief of staff who was fired for sexual harassment: Tim Mapes had served as Madigan’s chief of staff for more than 25 years and further solidified his “right-hand man” status by serving as clerk of the House and executive director of the Democratic Party of Illinois. But Mapes was swiftly fired in June 2018 hours after a longtime female staffer publicly accused him of sexual harassment. The next year, an outside investigation corroborated further allegations of bullying by Mapes.

* Tribune | ‘They scared the daylights out of you, didn’t they?’ Cross-examination underway for star witness in ‘ComEd Four’ trial: Marquez and Pramaggiore were later captured in another recording discussing whether Mapes was employable at ComEd or Exelon. “I keep thinking about how we can be helpful to (Mapes),” Pramaggiore said. “It’s hard to do anything directly.”

* Crain’s | ComEd’s formula rate might still be law but for timing of fed raids on Madigan allies: The controversial formula rate that gave Commonwealth Edison great control over how much it could charge customers each year might well still be in effect had the federal probe into ComEd and House Speaker Michael Madigan not come to light just as the 2019 legislative session was concluding. Prosecutors — finishing up their direct questioning of star witness Fidel Marquez, a former ComEd senior executive turned government informant — played an intercepted call that appeared to show ComEd’s 10-year extension of the formula was on track for consideration in 2019 as late as April 8.

* Telephone conversation between Michael McClain and Michael Madigan | ComEd Exhibit 83-T: McClain and Madigan discuss hiring Jeffrey Rush.

* Sun-Times | List of Madigan tapes and more heard in the ComEd bribery trial: Listen to recordings collected by the FBI played in the ComEd bribery trial. The list will be updated with new audio and transcripts as the trial develops.