ComEd once found its fate so crucially tied to the Illinois legislature dominated by Michael J. Madigan that the utility’s CEO was known to bluntly declare: “What’s important to the President is important to ComEd.” »

That’s what a jury heard Monday as testimony in Madigan’s racketeering conspiracy trial entered its second week.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah Streicker spent her day questioning former ComEd general counsel Thomas O’Neill, who noted the “persistent pressure” he felt to sign and then renew a contract for the law firm of Madigan ally Victor Reyes.

O’Neill said the pressure came “primarily from Mike McClain” but also from ComEd’s CEO for much of that period, Anne Pramaggiore. Along the way, O’Neill said he also began to learn more about Reyes.

“I learned that Victor Reyes was a fundraiser – a prolific fundraiser – for the Illinois Democratic Party,” O’Neill testified.

O’Neill has already explained all this on the witness stand. But a new panel of jurors saw and heard his testimony with fresh eyes on Monday – and in great detail.

Madigan, who spent a record 36 years as speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives until his resignation in 2021, is on trial with his longtime friend and confidant McClain, who worked for years as a lobbyist for ComEd.

Prosecutors say Madigan ran a criminal enterprise designed to strengthen his power and enrich his allies and associates, with McClain working as his agent.

A separate jury McClain and Pramaggiore sentenced in 2023 of a long-running plot to bribe Madigan for ComEd. The plan to land an unusual contract for Reyes’ law firm, Reyes Kurson, was a key pillar of the case.

O’Neill testified about his experience during this previous trial. But Madigan is also now charged for his alleged role in the scheme.

Jurors will not be informed of previous convictions.

They were scheduled to hear Monday from state Rep. Robert “Bob” Rita, who began testifying Thursday afternoon. Rita could be seen down the hall from the courtroom at Madigan’s trial Monday morning, anticipating the rest of her testimony.

But the attorneys ended up participating in a lengthy side discussion with U.S. District Judge John Blakey — which could not be heard by the public. In the end, prosecutors announced they would call O’Neill to the witness stand.

When jurors returned to the courtroom, Blakey told them that “the government’s witness, Mr. Rita, was going to be ruled inadmissible.” Sometimes this happens. So don’t worry about that.

O’Neill explained how he found himself in the middle of intense negotiations over the Energy Infrastructure and Modernization Act in 2011, as well as the The Future Energy Jobs Act in 2016, which jurors had already heard about, was key to turning around ComEd’s bleak financial outlook at the time.

O’Neill described the public service’s situation as “precarious”. This, he says, is what ties ComEd’s future so closely to Parliament. And why Pramaggiore was known for saying “what’s important to the President is important to ComEd” – a recognition of Madigan’s power.

O’Neill then explained how, in the midst of the EIMA negotiations in 2011, McClain and fellow ComEd lobbyist John Hooker launched a pressure campaign to approve Reyes Kurson’s contract.

Hooker was convicted last year along with McClain and Pramaggiore.

The deal for Reyes Kurson was unusual, O’Neill said, because it guaranteed 850 billable hours for the law firm each year. He ended up signing it on October 25, 2011, just one day before the EIMA passed the Illinois House of Representatives, with Madigan voting in favor.

O’Neill said the pressure from McClain and Hooker was “impacting the timing” of the contract, which he didn’t like.

Years later, when Reyes Kurson learned that ComEd wanted to reduce the number of hours guaranteed in the contract, O’Neill told jurors: “We heard from Mike McClain. »

“It seems to me he was on both sides,” O’Neill said of McClain.

On Monday, prosecutors showed jurors email after email in which McClain pushed for a better deal for Reyes Kurson — despite his role as a ComEd lobbyist. O’Neill said he put it off because he was busy focusing on the utility’s legislative priorities, which then included the FEJA bill.

McClain eventually got over O’Neill’s head by sending an email to Pramaggiore, O’Neill’s boss, in January 2016. McClain told Pramaggiore: “I’m sure you know how valuable Victor is to our friend. »

“I know the principle and so do you,” McClain wrote. He warned that if Reyes failed to resolve the problem, “he would go to our friend. Our friend will call me and then I will call you.

“Is this an exercise we need to follow?” »

After showing the email to jurors Monday, Streicker asked O’Neill, “Who is ‘our friend’?”

“President Madigan,” O’Neill said.

Contributor: Dave McKinney