A key allegation in the “ComEd Four” trial, expected to begin Tuesday with jury selection, promises a fascinating glimpse into how the struggle over the reins of power in Illinois can create some strange bedfellows.
Juan Ochoa, former CEO of the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority, on May 1, 2012. According to a federal indictment, then-House Speaker Michael Madigan participated in a two-year effort to get Ochoa appointed to a lucrative position on Commonwealth Edison’s board, part of a larger effort by the utility to harness the speaker’s influence in Springfield.
An attorney for Ochoa, Ricardo Meza, declined to comment for this story, but has previously told the Tribune that Ochoa “will testify truthfully about everything he knows.”were Madigan’s longtime confidant, Michael McClain, 75, of downstate Quincy, former ComEd CEO Anne Pramaggiore, 64, ex-ComEd lobbyist John Hooker, 73, and Jay Doherty, 69, the former head of the City Club of Chicago. All of the defendants have pleaded not guilty.
Sources told the Tribune that Gutierrez and Ochoa met personally with Madigan to push the idea, as well as with then-Mayor Rahm Emanuel. Copies of Emanuel’s official calendars from the time, released to the Tribune via an open records request, show that Emanuel met with Ochoa and Gutierrez at City Hall on Nov. 17, 2017.U.S. Rep. Jesús"Chuy" García, second from left, then a Cook County commissioner, stands with Juan Ochoa, center, and former U.S. Rep.
“And Mike, a board member gets paid how much?” Madigan asked. According to the affidavit, when McClain replied it was $78,000 a year, Madigan laughed and said, “Maybe I’ll take the appointment.”“Yeah Mike, I would suggest that we continue to support …. but keep me advised as to how much pushback there is,” Madigan was quoted in the affidavit as saying.
And, illustrating how they seemingly worked in tandem, Pramaggiore told McClain to let Madigan know he could be the one to inform Ochoa that ComEd was closing in on the deal. Pramaggiore also expressed frustration with some potential hang-ups her colleagues still had about Ochoa.
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