Yesterday I mentioned that the saga of corruption revealed in the trial and conviction of the “ComEd Four” was far from over. At Crain’s Chicago Business Steve Daniels explores just how far it may extend:
Madigan’s successor as House speaker, Chris Welch, D-Hillside, said: “At every step, I have emphasized the need for due process and that the federal courtroom was the appropriate venue for questions of guilt or innocence. After reviewing the entirety of the evidence, this jury has sent a clear message that the behavior of the defendants was criminal. Since my election as speaker, I’ve been clear that restoring trust in government was paramount. I’m proud to stand with a new generation of leadership in Illinois who share these values.â€
Left unsaid was that Welch was Madigan’s favorite to succeed him in 2021 after it became clear that he didn’t have the votes to carry on as speaker.
Also left unsaid was an embarrassing nugget involving Welch from the trial. In one of the wiretaps, Fidel Marquez, the ComEd executive turned government informant, expressed anger along with Hooker that Welch wouldn’t get to be the lead sponsor of ComEd’s bill to extend the highly lucrative formula rate system, which they said Welch dearly desired. That rate-setting process first was enacted in 2011 — at the beginning of the scheme prosecutors convinced the jury the four had carried out.
I don’t see how you can convict the “ComEd Four” and put Mike Madigan on trial without putting Springfield in the dock as well.
Me neither.
Cant they all say they were just friends? That allows for the unlimited exchange of cash and gifts, or is that only true if you are a judge?
Steve