Federal Judge Drops Bribery Charge Against ComEd

CHICAGO — Three years after Commonwealth Edison agreed to pay a $200 million fine in connection with a years-long bribery scheme, a bribery charge originally levied against Illinois’ largest utility has been dropped, officials said.

The dropping of the criminal charge had been previously agreed to by the U.S. Attorney for Northern Illinois as part of a deal that ComEd agreed to overhaul its relationship with lobbying groups.

In May, four former ComEd executives, known as the ComEd four, were convicted of charges linked to with the scandal in which the executives were found guilty of corruptly influencing former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan.

As part of the agreement with prosecutors, the utility admitted it paid $1.3 million in jobs and contracts to associates of Madigan over nearly a decade to influence the former House speaker. Madigan, who was later charged with 22 corruption-related counts in the case, told prosecutors that operatives in the scheme "made out like bandits."

The former executives, which included former CEO Anne Pramaggiore, former lobbyist Mike McClain, retired executive John Hooker, and former consultant Jay Doherty, were found guilty of bribery conspiracy, bribery and willfully falsifying the company’s books.

Under the agreement with federal prosecutors, the U.S. Attorney agreed to defer prosecution on the bribery charge for three years and then seek to dismiss it if ComEd abides by certain conditions, including continuing to cooperate with ongoing investigations of individuals or other entities related to the conduct described in the bribery charge.

On Monday, a federal judge ruled that the utility had lived up to the terms of the deal.

“With the completion of the DPA and dismissal of the charge, ComEd remains committed, at all levels of the company, to the highest standards of integrity and ethical behavior for our business, and to continuing to build the trust of our customers,” ComEd said in an an issued statement. “And, as the state transitions to a cleaner energy future, all of our more than 6,300 employees, who work hard to keep the lights on each day, remain focused on continuing to deliver highly reliable, resilient, and increasingly clean power to more than 9 million residents across northern Illinois.”