State Rep. Paul Jacobs (R-Pomona) | reppauljacobs.com
State Rep. Paul Jacobs (R-Pomona) | reppauljacobs.com
State Rep. Paul Jacobs (R-Pomona) is calling for ethics reform in Illinois after the conviction of the ComEd Four.
“Illinois government has been plagued by corruption for decades,” Jacobs said in a Facebook post. “In the last decade alone, ten sitting or former elected state officials have been charged in federal court with public corruption-related activities. This includes longtime Speaker of the House Michael Madigan who is awaiting trial on charges of racketeering, bribery, fraud and extortion.”
Jacobs highlighted that Michael McClain, Anne Pramaggiore, John Hooker, and Jay Doherty – dubbed in the media as the ComEd Four – were found guilty on all four counts "charged with bribing Madigan with no-show jobs and lobbying contracts in exchange for positive movement on legislation favored by the energy giant.”
“In recent years, politicians in Springfield have stalled efforts to close loopholes in state law that allow a culture of corruption to persist," Jacobs said. "As your State Representative, I am committed to solutions that will deliver meaningful ethics reform and begin restoring public confidence in the stewardship of our tax dollars.”
Jacobs’ comments come after the ComEd Four were convicted of scheming to pay $1.3 million to Madigan-connected people and companies. They face sentencing in January 2024. As part of the scheme, ComEd provided jobs – some of which were no-show – and contracts to those with connections to Madigan who at the time controlled the Illinois Democratic Party and had wielded power as the state’s most powerful politician as the longest-serving state House Speaker in the nation.
ComEd, the state’s largest utility, engaged in the scheme to influence Madigan in order to get preferential treatment in the state House. Prosecutors called the four defendants "grandmasters of corruption.” ComEd paid a $200 million fine in July 2020 and admitted to the scheme.
The 81-year-old Madigan was in power as House Speaker from 1983 to 1995 and then from 1997 to 2021. He was an Illinois House member from 1971 to 2021 before stepping down amid the scandal. He is charged in a separate filing of 23 counts of public corruption related to the ComEd scandal and is facing a single count of public corruption from a similar scheme with AT&T.
Madigan will go on trial in April 2024. Despite being under investigation, Madigan reportedly took part in the 2022 election campaign and is still holding onto one elected position as 13th Ward Democratic committeeman, a position he has held since age 27. Madigan has transferred the last $10 million from his campaign budget to his defense fund.
The criticism of corruption against state Democrats comes just after former state senator Tom Cullerton was spotted working in Springfield as a lobbyist after serving jail time for taking a no-show position from the Teamsters.
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