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Archive for the ‘ComEd Four’ Category

Editorial: Commonwealth Edison did not deserve the record-shattering delivery rate hike they wanted

Posted in ComEd Four, OP/Ed, Politics, Taxes, Unions on December 15, 2023| Leave a Comment »

ComEd Wire

Com-Ed electrical towers follow a north-south pathway through Barrington Hills on May 23, 2023. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune)

By The Editorial Board | Chicago Tribune

Commonwealth Edison in recent years has endured a humiliating — and deserved — comeuppance.

Its status as the most politically powerful company in Illinois came to an abrupt end in 2020 when the utility admitted to a nearly decadelong bribery scheme aimed at winning highly lucrative legislation in Springfield in return for serving as something of a ghost payrolling service for then-House Speaker Michael Madigan.

So earlier this year it was with some level of chutzpah that ComEd petitioned the Illinois Commerce Commission, which regulates utilities, for a record-shattering delivery rate hike of $1.5 billion over four years.

To their credit, the regulators Thursday rejected most of ComEd’s filing, substantially reduced its requested profit level on the capital spending they did approve, and told the utility to go back to the drawing board on the investments needed to fulfill the state’s clean-energy goals.

Thursday’s events were a jaw-dropper for those used to watching previous commissions act essentially like patsies for the utilities they’re supposed to regulate.

Now, the question is, how will ComEd respond?

Will it resort to lawsuits and argue that the regulators are exceeding their authority? Will it ask the General Assembly to overrule the commission, as ComEd did time and time again during the period it was bribing the state’s most powerful politician? Will it do both?

Or, will ComEd get the message and adjust?

Read more here.

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Prosecutors want life in prison for ComEd 4, defense attorneys say

Posted in ComEd Four, Crime, Politics, Resident Spotlights on November 15, 2023| Leave a Comment »

CE Four

Defendants in the ComEd 4 corruption trial listen as the federal jury reads its verdict. (Courtroom sketch courtesy of L.D.Chukman)

By Brett Rowland | The Center Square

Prosecutors are seeking life sentences for four former Commonwealth Edison leaders convicted of conspiring to bribe former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan, a defense attorney said.

A federal judge on Wednesday denied a request from defense attorneys to delay sentencing.

Defense attorneys had asked for more time to deal with what they said were complex issues regarding sentencing guidelines. At a hearing Wednesday, defense attorney Patrick Cotter said prosecutors would be seeking life sentences for the defendants.

“The government apparently is going to suggest that the guidelines of this case are life,” Cotter said. “And we are asking for what we believe to be adequate time, a couple extra weeks, to respond not only to the [pre-sentencing report] but to what the government files when they’re asking to put our clients in jail for life. And I think that that’s not unreasonable.”

U.S. District Court Judge Judge Harry Leinenweber disagreed. He noted the four were convicted more than six months ago and still have additional time before the sentencing hearings scheduled for January.

“It seems to me that there’s adequate time to get ready for sentencing without moving the date,” he said Wednesday.

Prosecutors had proposed shifting dates for some pre-sentencing court filings, but the prosecution’s schedule would keep the sentencing dates as previously set.

Prosecutors have yet to file sentencing memos for any of the defendants.

Any significant amount of time behind bars for the defendants could amount to life in prison given their ages. The youngest was 64 years old.

Read more here.

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Report: Chicago area most corrupt in America

Posted in 220, Barrington Hills Park District, ComEd Four, Deception, Look For The Union Label, One Barrington Hills, Politics, Pritzker’s Rules of Order, Property Taxes, School Districts, Springfield, Unions, What the Ficke (Bradford)? on November 7, 2023| Leave a Comment »

Urban Architecture In Chicago

Chicago is the most corrupt metropolitan area in America for the fourth consecutive year and Illinois is the second-most corrupt state, according to a new report from the University of Illinois-Chicago. Corruption can cost Illinois taxpayers up to $550 million per year.

By Dylan Sharkey | Illinois Policy

A new report found Chicago is the nation’s most corrupt metropolitan area and Illinois is the nation’s second-most corrupt state.

Chicago led the nation with 41 corruption convictions per year, or 1,824 total, from 1976 to 2021, according to an analysis by the University of Illinois-Chicago using U.S. Justice Department data on federal public corruption convictions.

Illinois was second of the states for per-capita convictions, with 1.75 for every 10,000 residents. Louisiana was on top with 2.85 per 10,000.

Total Illinois convictions hit 2,224 from 1976 to 2021, or an average of nearly 50 per year. About 4 in 5 of those were out of the Chicago area.

From 2000 to 2018, corruption cost Illinois $550 million per year in lost economic activity and investment. Political science professor Marco Rosaire Rossi noted Illinois corruption was down slightly in 2021 compared to other years, but far from where the state should be.

“However, just because corruption is becoming less frequent does not mean it is still not shamefully prevalent, nor that its impact on the state is less pernicious in terms of tax dollars wasted and lost in public trust,” he wrote.

Read more here.

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Op-Ed: Illinois needs to undo its nuclear ban

Posted in ComEd Four, Going green, OP/Ed, Politics, Pritzker’s Rules of Order, Springfield, Taxes, Topics Of Interest, Unions on November 3, 2023| Leave a Comment »

Byron

Steam escapes from Exelon Corp.’s nuclear plant in Byron, Ill. | AP Photo/Robert Ray, File

By Paige Lambermont | Competitive Enterprise Institute

Illinois has banned construction of new nuclear power plants for the past 36 years, since 1987. That’s a real predicament for a state that already relies heavily on that energy source for 53% of its electricity needs.

Now there’s a chance to end the nonsensical ban as the legislature may be poised to vote – again – on a plan to do just that. Only six months ago, the legislature overwhelmingly passed legislation, SB 76, to get rid of the ban, but it was vetoed by Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker.

Starting Nov. 7, lawmakers may have a chance to override the governor’s veto, giving the people of Illinois the chance to expand access to affordable, reliable, abundant energy to power their future.

“There is a pathway to override this veto, however, it will come down to whether the Speaker allows this bill to be called in the House,” State Sen. Sue Rezin, the bill sponsor, told WCSJ News.

In recent years, many states that had similar bans on nuclear power have acted to change them. West Virginia passed legislation repealing its nuclear ban in 2022. Since 2016, Montana, Kentucky, and Wisconsin have done the same. Connecticut has also amended its ban to allow for new construction at its existing plant site, Millstone Nuclear Power Plant.

The barrier to reform in Illinois is the governor.

Gov. Pritzker said he wasn’t happy with SB 76’s inclusion of large reactors, which he views as being less safe. When it was initially put forward, the bill only applied to small modular reactors that are smaller than conventional reactors, both in physical footprint and in electrical output. Ultimately, the bill that passed was expanded to include more reactors.

But it’s important to note that despite the governor’s misgivings, the only reactors included in SB 76 are newer designs with enhanced safety and performance features. This includes the type of reactor that just came online in Georgia earlier this year and is already producing a whopping 1,100 megawatts of reliable power, enough to power 500,000 homes.

Read on here.

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SEC charges Exelon, ComEd and former utility CEO Anne Pramaggiore in Michael Madigan scandal

Posted in ComEd Four, Resident Spotlights, Riding Club of Barrington Hills on September 29, 2023| Leave a Comment »

AP CE

Former ComEd CEO Anne Pramaggiore exits the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse on May 2, 2023 in Chicago after being found guilty on all counts in the “ComEd Four” bribery trial. (Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune)

By Ray Long and Jason Meisner – Chicago Tribune

The Commonwealth Edison scandal engulfing indicted former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan is now costing its parent company, Exelon Corp., $46.2 million in penalties under a new settlement with the federal Securities and Exchange Commission.

The SEC charged Exelon and ComEd with fraud in the alleged scheme to influence and reward Madigan as several lucrative pieces of utility legislation passed the Democratic-dominated General Assembly from 2011 to 2019. Exelon agreed to pay the penalty, the SEC said.

Former ComEd CEO Anne Pramaggiore also faces new SEC bribery-related charges, but her case will be litigated, according to the commission. Pramaggiore already was convicted in the high-profile ComEd Four corruption case in federal court this year and awaits sentencing in January.

The new SEC penalties follow ComEd’s July 2020 deferred prosecution agreement with the U.S. attorney’s office to pay a $200 million fine and cooperate with prosecutors in exchange for dropping a bribery count against the electric utility. The bribery count was dropped earlier this year.

The Illinois Commerce Commission also previously approved a roughly $38 million refund for ComEd customers — or about, on average, a little less than $5 per residential customer — to address the question of whether customer costs were tied to the inappropriate conduct. The refund was derided by one utility watchdog as “chump change.”

Read more here.

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Complaint alleges ComEd violated state law by raising fees on customer bills

Posted in ComEd Four, Deception, Politics, Pritzker’s Rules of Order, Taxes on September 6, 2023| Leave a Comment »

ComEd

A group of businesses filed a complaint with state regulators last week alleging that Chicago electric company Commonwealth Edison improperly raised customer bills this summer.

The complaint – centered on a portion of the 2021 Climate and Equitable Jobs Act that allows utilities to recoup carbon mitigation investments – alleges the utility failed to follow the proper regulatory channels laid out in Gov. JB Pritzker’s marquee climate policy.

The complaint was filed by the Chemical Industry Council of Illinois, a trade group that lobbies for chemical businesses, alleging the change in billing will cost its roughly 100 member companies about $100 million combined between June 2023 and May 2024. Eight other groups are also listed as complainants, including Loyola Academy, a suburban Catholic school.

Read the ICC complaint

It’s the latest salvo in the industrial sector’s opposition to elements of CEJA. Other major business groups have long warned that CEJA could result in increased energy costs, especially to large industrial customers, which are among the biggest users of electricity.

The Illinois Commerce Commission will consider the complaint, which could set a precedent allowing the oversight agency to have tighter control over how fees are calculated. All five of the commission’s members were appointed by Pritzker.

The fee at the center of the complaint is the “Carbon-Free Resource Adjustment,” or CFRA. The complaint alleges the fee was calculated without proper oversight and asks the ICC to order ComEd to stop using CFRA to recover costs and reimburse the complainants for any fees already collected this year. ComEd began collecting money from customers using CFRA in June.

Read more here.

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In wake Jill Biden’s Illinois visit, think tank says ‘Bidenomics’ is failing state (No Sh!t))

Posted in ComEd Four, Commodius Maximus, Deception, Look For The Union Label, Politics, Pritzker’s Rules of Order, Springfield, Taxes, Unions on August 31, 2023| Leave a Comment »

Jill

First lady Jill Biden

An Illinois grassroots nonprofit organization is sounding off on the Biden administration’s economic policies.

First Lady Jill Biden paid a visit to Chicago Wednesday to talk to unions and about “Bidenomics,” a political slogan coined for President Joe Biden’s economic agenda.

“President Biden and I understand the middle class because we are from the middle class,” she said during an appearance at the McCormick Center.

The president and first lady have been crisscrossing the country trying to sell the policies to Americans.

Jason Hefley, Illinois State director for Americans for Prosperity, said with the Biden administration spending more and Illinoisans earning less, the past two years of this administration have been detrimental for Illinois families.

“While they’re patting themselves on the back, they really need to be talking to the hard-working families of Illinois and the country about the real pressures they are facing at the gas station, at the grocery store and buying a home,” said Hefley.

Many apparently are not sold when it comes to the state of the economy or Biden’s performance.

The Center Square Voters’ Voice Poll, conducted in conjunction with Noble Predictive Insights, found that 49% of voters say Biden is not a strong leader compared to 36% who say the opposite. The survey also found that 49% say Biden does not have the judgment to serve effectively, while 40% say he does. The survey also found that a solid majority of 66% of those surveyed say the country is headed in the wrong direction and slightly over half, 54%, disapprove of the job Biden is doing.

In a recent poll by the NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, just 36% of Americans approve of the president’s handling of the economy.

Read more here.

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Illinois energized to tackle possible redesign of state flag

Posted in ComEd Four, Commodius Maximus, Crime, News Media, Pension Funding, Politics, Springfield, Taxes, Topics Of Interest, Traffic, Unions on August 20, 2023| Leave a Comment »

Stantis Flag Ideas

Chicago Tribune editorial cartoonist Scott Stantis’ ideas for a new Illinois flag design. (Scott Stantis/For the Chicago Tribune)

The state is poised to consider designing a new state flag now that the governor has signed legislation to create the Illinois Flag Commission.

With inspiration from a resident, state Sen. Doris Turner, D-Springfield, sponsored Senate Bill 1818, which drew bipartisan support. Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed the bill this month, and now 21 members are being selected to decide whether to update a simple flag from 1915. Once approved, the public will get to share its vision for a new state flag.

“It’s an opportunity for people to learn more about Illinois and put our best foot forward,” Turner told The Center Square.

As flag fever hits several states in the U.S., Turner said that Utah had a huge response to its flag design initiative with about 7,000 proposals and more than 44,000 public comments.

“That just shows you the type of excitement that an exercise like this can really generate,” she said.

Turner predicts a similar response in Illinois with the opportunity for all ages to reflect on the essence of the state. Today’s flag saw a change in 1970 when the name Illinois was added, but the rest reflects the state seal with an eagle grasping a banner.

“The way I look at it is that the state seal belongs to the state. The flag belongs to the people,” she said.

Rather than share her own views on a design, Turner prefers to see what residents are thinking.

“I’m looking at this with a very, very, very open mind, and I’m excited to see what comes through,” she said.

Read more here.

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Pritzker vetoes bill that lifted moratorium on new nuclear power stations

Posted in ComEd Four, Commodius Maximus, Girlie man, Politics, Pritzker’s Rules of Order, Springfield, Taxes on August 12, 2023| 1 Comment »

Nuclear Power Veto

Illinois’ moratorium on new nuclear power plant construction will stay in place for now after Gov. J.B. Pritzker vetoed a bill that would have lifted the ban.

The legislation would have invalidated a 1987 law that prohibited new nuclear power facilities from being built until a permanent waste storage option was made available.

“The bill is vetoed because the vague definitions in the bill, including the overly broad definition of advanced reactors, will open the door to the proliferation of large-scale nuclear reactors that are so costly to build that they will cause exorbitant ratepayer-funded bailouts,” Pritzker’s office said in a statement.

The bill specifically called for allowing the development of so-called advanced nuclear reactors such as the Small Modular Nuclear Reactors, or SMRs, that industry advocates have proposed to help meet the state’s emissions-free energy goal.

David Kraft, director of the Nuclear Energy Information Service, said the state doesn’t need any more nuclear reactors.

“There would be competition now only for market share for the energy, but there would be severe competition to get that energy on an already overcrowded transmission grid,” Kraft said.

State Sen. Sue Rezin, R-Morris, said the governor is putting his own partisan political ambitions over what is in the best interest of the people of Illinois.

“The governor’s decision to veto Senate Bill 76 is a short-sighted mistake that will hurt our state’s future energy portfolio,” Rezin told The Center Square.

Read more here.

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Feds detail Madigan’s ‘criminal enterprise,’ alleging corporations handing out bribes to cronies

Posted in ComEd Four, Cook, County, Deception, Ethics, Politics, Resident Spotlights, Springfield, Transparency, Unions on July 12, 2023| 1 Comment »

madigan

Motions continue back and forth between former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan’s attorneys and federal prosecutors alleging Madigan ran a criminal enterprise from through the Illinois Statehouse.

In the summer of 2020, federal prosecutors revealed a deferred prosecution agreement between utility ComEd and the government that had the utility agree to pay $200 million for bribing “Public Official A.” It was later revealed through indictments the official was Madigan.

Since then, Madigan has been charged with 22 counts of corruption in the ComEd case and an additional count in a case involving AT&T’s former president. Earlier this year, four individuals, including Michael McClain, a close Madigan confidant and codefendant, were found guilty in the scheme.

Madigan’s former Chief of Staff Tim Mapes faces a trial next month. Madigan and McClain face charges next spring. All have pleaded not guilty.

Last month, Madigan made a motion to dismiss some of the counts. Monday, his attorneys asked for an amended bill of particulars.

“Madigan respectfully requests that the Court grant this Motion for Leave to permit him to amend his previously filed Motion for Bill of Particulars … to seek a bill of particulars that also requires the government to set forth the theory of liability―bribe or gratuity―it plans to advance at trial as to each alleged ‘thing of value’ he illegally received,” the motion said.

On Tuesday, prosecutors urged the court to ignore that motion.

Read more here. Read the federal prosecutors’ 152-page filing here.

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