(The Center Square) – Prosecutors in the “ComEd 4" trial late Wednesday sought to highlight the “relentless” campaign they contend Michael McClain waged in 2016 as a Commonwealth Edison lobbyist intent on making sure a contract longtime Democratic political operative Victor Reyes had with the company was upheld to the letter.
As testimony picked up pace in the high-stakes corruption trial at the Dirksen Federal Courthouse, attorneys for the government showed jurors a steady stream of emails McClain sent to then ComEd General Counsel Tom O’Neill and other company executives seeking to influence them into committing to such obligations as guaranteed billable hours and maximum fee amounts for the Reyes Kurson firm, all while routinely name-dropping House Speaker Mike Madigan in making sure the firm got all the work they could.
“So I talked with our friend and he asked if you would consider increasing that 30 hours a month by another 10 hours. Is that possible?” McClain emailed O’Neill in March 2016.
Prosecutors have already established in the trial, now in its second week, that “our friend” was the term McClain used for Madigan.
A longtime confidante of Madigan, McClain is now on trial along with former ComED CEO Anne Pramaggiore; John Hooker, a longtime ComEd lobbyist; and Jay Doherty, a ComEd lobbyist and previous chief of the City Club of Chicago, in a case that charges each of them with being involved in an ongoing pay-for-play scheme that doled out contracts and jobs to the longtime House speaker in exchange for his favorable position on legislation beneficial to the company.
Madigan is slated to go on trial in early 2024 on a slew of corruption-related charges that include the alleged bribery plot with ComEd.
As head of the utility giant’s legal department, at one point O’Neill said he had sought to cut back on Reyes Kurson’s hours, given the company didn’t have much work he felt the firm was equipped to handle. It wasn’t long after that he recalled McClain began negotiating on the firm’s behalf, including working to secure renewal options for them.
O’Neill said he was soon taken aback by how much of a hot-button issue the relatively low-priority contract quickly became.
“My main reaction, I guess, was I didn’t understand why he was referring to the Speaker,” he said of McClain. “I found it hard to believe the Speaker of the House would care about 10 hours.”
In early May 2016, McClain emailed O’Neill again about the Reyes’ deal, and referring to Madigan emphasized, “I just met with him and told it was not done yet but that I thought it would be accomplished this week?”
Prosecutors highlighted that the back-and-forth over Reyes Kurson ultimately dragged into July, and by that time the firm had secured more hours, just as Madigan had outlined.
Well-known for the political fundraising and other work he did for Madigan, Reyes’ firm was first hired by ComEd in 2011 as the company was seeking to get the so-called “smart grid” law over the finish line, where Madigan’s support proved pivotal in the face of then Gov. Pat Quinn’s veto.
On cross-examination, McClain attorney Patrick Cotter said to O’Neill, “At the end of the day, you did what you wanted to do with Reyes Kurson. You cut their hours,” prompting O’Neill to respond “yes.”
Cotter then pressed on, quizzing O’Neill “did you intend to bribe Mr. Madigan by hiring Reyes Kurson,“ with O’Neill responding “I did not.”