Ray Long

The four defendants charged in the ComEd bribery scheme are, from left, consultant Jay Doherty, lobbyist and former ComEd executive John Hooker, retired lobbyist Michael McClain and former ComEd CEO Anne Pramaggiore. Photos taken on Tuesday, March 14, 2023, outside the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse in Chicago. Brian Cassella and Chris Sweda/baiduhai

‘I wouldn’t do anything to damage my speaker’: Recordings in ComEd Four case show Michael Madigan playing political hardball

March 20, 2023 at 8:12 a.m.

Michael Madigan was still the House speaker and most powerful politician in the state in early November 2018 when he called a longtime confidant for a rundown of the latest...

Michael Madigan’s voice heard for first time on recordings played at ‘ComEd Four’ trial

March 20, 2023 at 8:09 a.m.

Despite nearly four decades at the helm of Illinois politics, ex-House Speaker Michael Madigan's voice was rarely heard publicly, outside of an occasional news conference or speech on the House...

Prosecutors say ‘ComEd Four’ bribery conspiracy defendants did Madigan’s bidding, while defense says conduct was legal lobbying, ‘a profession’

March 15, 2023 at 10:40 p.m.

The driver's license photo displayed on large screens in a federal courtroom Wednesday looked like that of an average grandfather, with the requisite bad lighting, wispy hair, squinting eyes and...

All Stories

‘I wouldn’t do anything to damage my speaker’: Recordings in ComEd Four case show Michael Madigan playing political hardball

Michael Madigan’s voice heard for first time on recordings played at ‘ComEd Four’ trial

Prosecutors say ‘ComEd Four’ bribery conspiracy defendants did Madigan’s bidding, while defense says conduct was legal lobbying, ‘a profession’

Jury selection begins in ‘ComEd Four’ bribery case involving Michael Madigan

ComEd board appointment allegedly pushed by Madigan to offer glimpse into Illinois’ strange political bedfellows

A Madigan confidant. A popular executive. An insider lobbyist. A political consultant. Who are the ‘ComEd Four’?

How ex-ComEd CEO Anne Pramaggiore went from rising corporate star to defendant in bombshell corruption case

‘ComEd Four’ bribery trial to put focus on ex-Speaker Madigan’s power, state’s blurry line between politics and crime

Days before ComEd Four trial to begin, ICC chair related to ex-alderman with ties to case steps down

Madigan attorneys allege feds misled court in wiretap filings, tried to criminalize legal lobbying