Commonwealth Edison Co to pay $200M to end bribery investigation

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The official has been publicly identified as Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan. Madigan is the longest-serving leader of any state or federal legislature. He is arguably the state’s most powerful politician.

The U.S. attorney’s office for the Northern District of Illinois announced that the government will defer prosecution on the charge for three years and then seek to dismiss it if ComEd lives up to certain terms of the agreement. 

ComEd will be required to cooperate with ongoing investigations of individuals or other entities related to the conduct described in the bribery charge. A related SEC investigation and civil lawsuits remain pending.

The statement of facts involves the state of Illinois legislation

ComEd’s admissions to date are contained in a Statement of Facts attached to the DPA.

ComEd admitted that its efforts to influence and reward the high-level elected official (Madigan) started around 2011 and continued through 2019.

During that time, the Illinois General Assembly was considering and passed legislation that had a large impact on ComEd’s profitability and operations. This includes legislation that would influence the regulatory process that determines the electricity rates ComEd could charge its customers.