At its core, the alleged bribery scheme involving ex-Speaker Michael Madigan and utility giant Commonwealth Edison is an alarmingly familiar lesson on how often-cozy relationships between business leaders and politicians can catch the attention of federal prosecutors.
Like so many federal corruption probes before it, the case is replete with powerful political characters, bit players, well-connected lobbyists and big-business clout.
Unlike the investigations that felled two consecutive Illinois governors: Operation Safe Road and Operation Board Games, the ComEd bribery investigation has no official nickname, but still it has reverberated across the state’s political landscape.
