Crime & Law

‘ComEd Four’ Now Set to be Sentenced in July, More Than 2 Years After Guilty Verdicts

Four former Commonwealth Edison officials convicted of conspiring to bribe former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan are now expected to be sentenced this summer — a decision defense attorneys slammed as “reckless” while the case remains under review by the Department of Justice.

Specific dates have not yet been set, but U.S. District Judge Manish Shah on Thursday said each of the so-called “ComEd Four” — former CEO Anne Pramaggiore, Madigan’s longtime confidant Michael McClain, and ex-ComEd lobbyists John Hooker and Jay Doherty — will be sentenced in July.

“It is important we have sentencing dates on the books confirmed,” Shah said. “It is important for everybody involved.”

The four were convicted in May 2023, but their sentencing dates have been delayed repeatedly, in large part due to a Supreme Court ruling that narrowed the federal bribery statute last year.

Under that ruling, the federal statute continues to criminalize quid pro quo bribery but no longer extends to cover gratuities — which are payments made in recognition of actions a state or local official has already taken or has committed to take, without any quid pro quo agreement in place.

Defense attorneys in this case argued that such a ruling would require their clients’ convictions to be tossed out and the case to be retried.

Shah earlier this month agreed, in part, dismissing four of the nine convictions after finding jurors had been wrongly instructed as a result of the high court’s ruling. Government prosecutors have the option to retry those charges but now intend to dismiss them following sentencing.

Shah left in place five other convictions, including on the top conspiracy count and charges of falsifying the utility giant’s books to try and cover up the alleged bribery. Federal prosecutors claimed the defendants worked to bribe Madigan by offering no-work jobs and contracts to the speaker’s allies in exchange for Madigan’s backing on crucial energy legislation in Springfield.

The four records falsification charges that remain intact are tied to the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Last month, President Donald Trump signed an executive order pausing that act and calling for a review of its enforcement.

During Thursday’s hearing, Pramaggiore’s attorney Scott Lassar revealed that the case is being reviewed by the Department of Justice, which is set to decide whether the charges related to those false statements can proceed. He asked Shah to hold off on sentencing until that matter is resolved.

But Shah refused, saying he would not wait on those “uncertain and frankly amorphous” deliberations taking place outside his purview.

“If something happens that affects the actual case that’s pending before me, I have no doubt you’ll let me know,” he said.

McClain’s defense attorney Patrick Cotter called that decision “reckless,” saying the DOJ review and the potential for more charges to be tossed out puts the defendants in a “radically different position.”

Prosecutors, however, held that it’s beyond time for the case — which was filed more than four years ago — to finally reach its conclusion.

“There is no basis to delay sentencing just based upon a hope that something may turn the defendants’ way,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah Streicker said. “There is no basis for believing that.”

Streicker on Thursday added that her office has received no guidance from the DOJ in regards to this case.

Shah said he intends to sentence Hooker first, followed by Doherty, Pramaggiore and then McClain. Each will have their own sentencing hearing, and Shah said he wants to schedule no more than two in any given week so he can give “adequate thought and deliberation” to each defendant.

Madigan was convicted last month on 10 counts, four of which were tied to the ComEd bribery. That same jury deadlocked and failed to reach a verdict on any charges related to McClain, who was also tried alongside Madigan. 

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