* Courthouse News Service…

The second week of testimony in ex-Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan’s corruption trial thus far has consisted of extensive questioning of just one man: Tom O’Neill, former general counsel for energy utility Commonwealth Edison, more commonly known as ComEd.

O’Neill spent all Monday and most of Tuesday on the witness stand answering questions about ComEd’s efforts to pass key legislation in Illinois between 2010 and 2016. Federal prosecutors accuse Madigan — in one of the five “episodes” to which his 23 bribery, fraud, racketeering and conspiracy charges are related — of helping to pass those bills in exchange for ComEd helping secure jobs and contracts for those in his political network.

ComEd needed the help, O’Neill told federal prosecutor Sarah Streicker on Monday. He testified to the utility’s poor financial situation prior to the 2011 passage of the so-called Smart Grid bill, which overhauled how customers’ energy rates were calculated. The act’s passage, along with a subsequent 2013 trailer bill, resulted in increased energy rates for many customers but also provided ComEd with more stable income to upgrade its electric grid. […]

“What’s important to the Speaker is important to ComEd,” O’Neill said he remembered ComEd ex-CEO Anne Pramaggiore saying.

* Tribune…

A former lieutenant for Michael Madigan is expected to resume testimony Wednesday in the ex-speaker’s corruption case, where he’s giving jurors an insider look at Madigan’s influence over legislation in Springfield and Democratic Party politics.

Will Cousineau, who wore dual hats as both Madigan’s issues director in the House and also political director of the Democratic Party of Illinois, was called late in the day Tuesday in Madigan’s trial, which is now in its second week of testimony at the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse.

Cousineau, now a high-powered lobbyist, previously testified in the “ComEd Four” case last year, as well as the separate perjury trial of Tim Mapes, the speaker’s longtime chief of staff.

Testifying in a quiet voice and seeming slightly uncomfortable, Cousineau told the jury at the outset of his testimony he was granted immunity by the U.S. attorney’s office, meaning he cannot be charged if he tells the truth.

* Sun-Times…

Before Cousineau took the stand Tuesday, jurors heard more testimony from former ComEd general counsel Thomas O’Neill. He previously told jurors about the pressure he felt from McClain to sign and renew a contract for the law firm of Madigan ally Victor Reyes. It happened when ComEd needed House approval for legislation crucial to its bottom line. […]

Asked if McClain was a valuable asset for the utility, O’Neill agreed. He said McClain was hired specifically because of his connection to Madigan, whose historical relationship with ComEd had been “not great.”

Cotter asked if it improved when McClain was hired.

“I would say yes,” O’Neill said.

In fact, Cousineau’s testimony later put McClain in the room with Madigan and members of his staff as they discussed some of ComEd’s key legislation in 2015.

* Capitol News Illinois…

Under questioning from McClain’s attorney about how often McClain actually made the recommendations, O’Neill testified that “sometimes it appeared that was all he did” – but immediately added that in reality, it was probably not that frequent an occurrence.

McClain’s persistence when checking in on the status of those recommendations could sometimes be overbearing, O’Neill said. However, he told defense attorneys, he didn’t think the job recommendations were necessarily improper and certainly didn’t feel McClain’s behavior violated ComEd’s code of business conduct.

And McClain was far from the only lobbyist who passed along names from elected officials for job recommendations at ComEd, O’Neill testified. He said he also came to understand that accepting the names and considering them – whether a recommended person was ultimately hired or not – was part of building goodwill with elected officials.

“You have to give to get in most cases,” O’Neill said, following up with a phrase he learned from ComEd’s former top internal lobbyist. “John Hooker used to say that ‘you have to show people you care before they care what you know.’”

* WGN…

Part of the afternoon’s testimony was also focused on attorney Victor Reyes.

The government alleges McClain and Madigan illegally and improperly pushed ComEd to hire the politically connected Reyes and his law firm, allegedly in exchange for supporting ComEd’s “smart grid” measure and other energy legislation.

The government alleges Madigan, with help from co-defendant McClain, schemed to arrange for “no-show” jobs to reward political loyalists in exchange for pushing legislation favorable to ComEd. The government said that the alleged criminal conspiracy sometimes included pressure from McClain regarding a dispute about legal work for a Madigan crony.

“You paid them only for the work they did?” asked Madigan’s attorney Dan Collins.

“That’s correct,” O’Neill testified.

* More…

* ABC Chicago | Former ComEd general counsel testifies on ex-IL Speaker Mike Madigan influence for 2nd day: O’Neill said he spoke with Pramaggiore sometime in 2018 about his concerns over having someone connected to the speaker on the board, but Pramaggiore said it was important he be selected. “It seemed to me bad optics to have someone directly connected to the speaker on the board,” said O’Neill of his conversation with Pramaggiore, adding that, “she acknowledged that, but she was interested in having Mr. Ochoa on the board. She believed there was a need to maintain good relations.”

* Fox Chicago | Mike Madigan trial: Former ComEd exec testifies on utility rate hikes, political favors: On the witness stand, O’Neill answered questions about internal ComEd emails, and the passage of legislation linked to utility rate hikes in exchange for an upgraded power grid system. Dozens of pages of emails were presented to the jury, including conversations regarding the Smart Grid bill and the Future Energy Jobs Act (FEJA) of 2016, which provided ComEd with financial stability, according to O’Neill.