ComEd apologized after prosecutors announced Friday the utility company will pay $200 million to resolve a federal criminal investigation into a bribery scheme.
Investigators say the utility company admitted to arranging jobs and payments for associates of an elected official, referred to only as “Public Official A," for nearly a decade.
ComEd's parent company said its own investigation revealed the misconduct involved "a small number of senior ComEd employees and outside contractors."
“We are committed to maintaining the highest standards of integrity and ethical behavior," Exelon CEO Christopher M. Crane said in a statement. "In the past, some of ComEd’s lobbying practices and interactions with public officials did not live up to that commitment. When we learned about the inappropriate conduct, we acted swiftly to investigate. We concluded from the investigation that a small number of senior ComEd employees and outside contractors orchestrated this misconduct, and they no longer work for the company. Since then, we have taken robust action to aggressively identify and address deficiencies, including enhancing our compliance governance and our lobbying policies to prevent this type of conduct. We apologize for the past conduct that didn’t live up to our own values, and we will ensure this cannot happen again.”
Exelon noted that the misconduct allegations do not include Exelon or Exelon Generation.
ComEd "arranged jobs, vendor subcontracts, and monetary payments associated with those jobs and subcontracts, for various associates of a high-level elected official for the state of Illinois, to influence and reward the official’s efforts to assist ComEd with respect to legislation concerning ComEd and its business," the office of U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois John Lausch said in a statement.
The court filing identifies the elected official involved as "Speaker of the Illinois House and the longest serving member of the House of Representatives," a description that seems only to fit Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan. A spokesman for Madigan did not immediately respond to request for comment.
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The largest electric utility in Illinois "understood that, as Speaker of the House of Representatives, Public Official A was able to exercise control over what measures were called for a vote in the House of Representatives and had substantial influence and control over fellow lawmakers concerning legislation, including legislation that affected ComEd," the court filing reads.
Thus, ComEd admitted to engaging in efforts "to influence and reward" Public Official A beginning in around 2011 and continuing through 2019, prosecutors say.
"The company admitted that it arranged for jobs and vendor subcontracts for Public Official A’s political allies and workers even in instances where those people performed little or no work that they were purportedly hired by ComEd to perform," the U.S. Attorney's Office said in a statement.
"In addition to the jobs and contracts, ComEd further admitted that it undertook other efforts to influence and reward Public Official A, including by appointing an individual to ComEd’s Board of Directors at the request of Public Official A; retaining a particular law firm at the request of Public Official A; and accepting into the company’s internship program a certain amount of students who resided in the Chicago ward where Public Official A was associated," the statement continues.
In exchange, prosecutors said the General Assembly "considered bills and passed legislation that had a substantial impact on ComEd’s operations and profitability, including legislation that affected the regulatory process used to determine the electricity rates ComEd charged its customers."
"We are committed to maintaining the highest standards of integrity and ethical behavior. In the past, some of ComEd’s lobbying practices and interactions with public officials did not live up to that commitment," Exelon CEO Christopher M. Crane said in a statement. "When we learned about the inappropriate conduct, we acted swiftly to investigate. We concluded from the investigation that a small number of senior ComEd employees and outside contractors orchestrated this misconduct, and they no longer work for the company. Since then, we have taken robust action to aggressively identify and address deficiencies, including enhancing our compliance governance and our lobbying policies to prevent this type of conduct. We apologize for the past conduct that didn’t live up to our own values, and we will ensure this cannot happen again.”
Prosecutors filed a one-count charge of bribery against ComEd Friday, as well as a deferred prosecution agreement in which the U.S. Attorney's office will delay prosecution on the charge for three years then seek to dismiss it if ComEd abides by certain conditions. Those conditions include continued cooperation with "ongoing investigation of individuals or other entities related to the conduct described in the bribery charge," as well as the payment of the $200 million fine.
ComEd cannot seek to recover the fine through customer surcharges or take a tax deduction, Lausch said. The agreement is subject to court approval, prosecutors say, though a court date has not been set.
Following the announcement, Exelon said it has "implemented four new mandatory policies that apply to employees who interact with public officials."
Those policies include rules, procedures and tracking protocols for all interactions with public officials, vetting and monitoring of lobbyists and political consultants, employment referrals or requests from public officials, and vendor referrals or requests from public officials, the company said.
The policies also prohibit subcontracting of third-party lobbyists and political consultants and oversight from the company’s "ethics and compliance team." It also plans to conduct training on the new policies.
Check back for updates on this developing story.
