(The Center Square) – An Illinois House bill would prevent public utilities from making campaign contributions to political candidates if it becomes law.
State Rep. Abdelnasser Rashid’s, D-Bridgeview, measure has the support of the Citizens Utility Board and its director of Governmental Affairs, Bryan McDaniel.
“This would make it so that utilities, water, gas, sewer, could not make any campaign contributions to a candidate for municipal or state office,” McDaniel told The Center Square.
The bill would also prevent donations to political action committees organized to support candidates. The measure has three co-sponsors.
“So this would be HB 1621. I can tell you that’d be wonderful if that bill could pass. We’ll see,” McDaniel said.
ComEd and other utilities have drawn the attention of federal authorities in recent corruption cases, including the trial and conviction of former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan.
On Feb. 12, a jury convicted Madigan on 10 counts of bribery, conspiracy, wire fraud and use of a facility to promote unlawful activity. Four of the 10 counts were related to ComEd.
Madigan is scheduled to be sentenced on June 13. U.S. government attorneys are also seeking $3.14 million from the former speaker in forfeiture at a bench trial. The amount includes payments to ComEd subcontractors who were Madigan’s political allies. Prosecutors say the payments were bribes.
In the related ComEd Four case, four people were convicted of corruption charges in 2023, and ComEd agreed to pay $200 million in fines as part of a deferred prosecution agreement.
Sentencing dates for the ComEd four defendants are scheduled in July and August.
Connie Mixon, professor of political science and director of the Urban Studies Program at Elmhurst University, said the corruption cases are frustrating to her as a political scientist and to people who care about good government.
“There are legislative things that could be done to curtail some of this corruption, and yet our General Assembly doesn’t seem interested or doesn’t feel any urgency in pushing through legislative reforms,” Mixon told The Center Square.
Rashid’s bill is currently in the Illinois House Rules Committee.
