Judge tosses out some ComEd 4 bribery convictions after Supreme Court ruling

CHICAGO - A federal judge vacated some convictions in the 2023 bribery case of the so-called "ComEd Four" in light of a separate Supreme Court ruling.

Judge Manish Shah granted a request to vacate the convictions for four of the nine counts against former ComEd CEO Anne Pramaggiore, former ComEd lobbyist John Hooker, onetime City Club President Jay Doherty, and Michael McClain, the longtime confidant to now-convicted ex-Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan.

High court ruling on bribery

The backstory:

The four defendants were convicted of arranging for jobs, contracts and money for Madigan’s associates in an illegal bid to curry favor with him for favorable legislation for the utility company.

The decision to dismiss some of their convictions comes after a Supreme Court ruling on a case in Indiana in which a mayor was found not guilty of bribery for taking a payment from a garbage company which he awarded a public contract.

The Supreme Court ruled that a gift given after the official act was taken, without an explicit quid pro quo, constituted a legal gratuity instead of bribery.

In light of that ruling, the judge in the "ComEd Four" case granted the request from the defendants to throw out some of their convictions.

What we don't know:

It was unclear if or when federal prosecutors would pursue a new trial.

What's next:

The judge ordered a status report on the next steps in the proceedings by March 11, according to court documents.