Madigan's top lawyer takes the stand to talk energy legislation, conflicts

(The Center Square) – After a long break for the holidays, the jury in the corruption case against former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan got back to business Monday as the defense moved ahead with its case. 

Justin Cox, who served as Madigan's assistant counsel and later as chief counsel, took the stand Monday as Madigan's attorneys went deeper into their defense case.

Cox walked Madigan's defense attorneys through major state energy legislation in Illinois over the past decade with attorneys pointing out that ComEd and other energy providers didn't always get what they wanted in legislation before lawmakers in Springfield. 

Prosecutors charged Madigan and co-defendant Michael McClain with 23 counts of bribery, racketeering and official misconduct. The federal government says they sought no-show jobs from state-regulated companies ComEd and AT&T  for political allies in exchange for passing legislation favorable to the companies in Springfield.

Cox said he would talk with Madigan's law partner, Bud Getzendanner, to "make sure Madigan wasn't voting" on bills that affected the Chicago law firm's clients.

Defense attorneys argued this was a regular procedure done to avoid potential conflicts of interest. 

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After going through years worth of state energy legislation with Cox on the stand, Madigan's defense attorney Todd Pugh asked Cox if Madigan ever told him to go easy on ComEd or AT&T, another state-regulated utility. 

"No, I don't recall anything like that," Cox said.

ComEd agreed to pay $200 million in July 2020 to resolve a criminal investigation into the years-long bribery scheme. As part of a deferred prosecution agreement, ComEd admitted it arranged $1.3 million in jobs, vendor subcontracts and payments to influence Madigan. AT&T Illinois agreed to pay $23 million as part of its own deferred prosecution agreement in 2022.

Madigan served in the Illinois House from 1971 to 2021. He served as speaker of the Illinois House from 1983 to 1995 and again from 1997 to 2021. He wielded additional power as chairman of the Democratic Party of Illinois.

A jury convicted four former ComEd executives and lobbyists in 2023 in a related trial.