Feds Cast Net For Ill. Speaker With $200M ComEd Bribery Deal

Feds Cast Net For Ill. Speaker With $200M ComEd Bribery Deal

July 20, 2020, Law360

Dan Shallman spoke with Law360 about a bribery settlement, which may target Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan. Mr. Shallman says Friday's filings left open some “tantalizing questions” about where the federal investigation is going for Madigan and others. He adds, “It looks bad, no question about it.”

But, he says it's clear the government's investigation is ongoing, with several interesting potential targets, and that prosecutors haven't publicly connected all the dots they would need to bring charges against Madigan. The deferred prosecution agreement is relatively vague when it comes to establishing a clear nexus between the benefits flowing to Madigan's associates and any actions allegedly taken to benefit the utility, Mr. Shallman says. Establishing that nexus would be essential to bring a case against the speaker, he said. It's also unclear, based on the agreement, whether the government has proof money was flowing through associates to the speaker himself, he adds.

He adds, “They can move forward on a bribery case without proving he received a penny. But it's a much stronger case, and a case they're much more likely to bring, if they can show that.”