Mike Madigan trial: Former ComEd exec testifies on utility rate hikes, political favors

CHICAGO - Lengthy testimony from former ComEd General Counsel Tom O’Neill continued Tuesday in the corruption trial of ex-Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan and co-defendant, Michael McClain.

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.

The internal communications shared with the jury showed how former ComEd executives collaborated to secure support for those legislative bills.

When federal prosecutors turned their attention to the appointment of Juan Ochoa—who was allegedly referred by Madigan—to ComEd’s board of directors, O’Neill testified that he had concerns.

The jury was shown emails exchanged between ComEd officials in February of 2018, pointing to red flags on Ochoa's background check. One area of concern, according to O’Neill, was that Ochoa had previously been appointed by Rod Blagojevich to serve as president of the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority; however, according to another member of O’Neill’s legal team, "there was some bad press around this given Ochoa’s lack of experience in running such a large organization."

Still, O'Neill said he felt ‘encouraged’ to accommodate referrals of Madigan and McClain.

After all, prosecutors said, Ochoa’s resume had been forwarded to former ComEd CEO Anne Pramaggiore at the direction of the Madigan.  

The alleged favors and political connections are central to the case, which sees Madigan and McClain facing 23 felony counts that include racketeering, bribery, wire fraud, and extortion.

Also Tuesday, the jury listened to a secretly recorded call between McClain and Victor Reyes, a connected politician-turned-lawyer who was granted ComEd legal contracts.

"Hey, Michael," Reyes said on the call.  

"Hi, Victor, how are you, sir?" McClain replied.

"I’m doing fine," said Reyes.

Reyes went on to say: "I have about 90,000 of those checks. Should I drop them off to the ward office, the downtown office, or to Mary? This is for the speaker’s event."

He later added: "I also have those directed contributions. Those, I’m gonna drop off to Mary."

McClain then responded: "If Emily is there and Mary’s not—she should be there Monday, but if she’s not—tell Emily that this goes on the ‘magic list.’"

Prior to the jury being sent home for the evening, they heard about 45 minutes of testimony from state lobbyist Will Cousineau, who worked for Madigan in various roles from 1999 until 2017.

He testified that to his knowledge, Madigan did not have a personal cell phone or email address, and if not in-person or on one of his office lines, Cousineau said communications would go through one of Madigan’s secretaries.

Cousineau added that when it came to campaign funding, committee appointments, and more, it was Madigan who had the final say.

Cousineau left the speaker's office in mid-2017 to become a lobbyist, but as he stated on Tuesday afternoon, he would still allow Madigan and McClain to hold private meetings in his Springfield office.

He added that he did not sit-in on those meetings, nor did he arrange them personally.

When Cousineau returns to the stand Wednesday morning, federal prosecutors say they'll be playing a lengthy recording for the jury.

Meanwhile, it has not yet been publicly addressed this week why Robert Rita, a member of the Illinois House of Representatives, who began testifying last week, has yet to return to the stand after the weekend recess.

As Madigan left the federal courthouse on Tuesday, he offered a wave to the cameras, something he hasn’t shied away from doing throughout his trial.  

Testimony will resume at the Dirksen Federal Courthouse on Wednesday morning.