ComEd Four Renew Acquittal Bids After Justices’ Bribery Ruling

A group of former Commonwealth Edison executives and lobbyists convicted last year of bribery, falsifying records, and conspiracy say a recent US Supreme Court decision shows the case against them was “rotten from the start.”

The government’s theory at trial was that Michael McClain, Anne Pramaggiore, John Hooker, and Jay Doherty provided a stream of benefits to former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan (D) to stay in his good graces. But the Supreme Court made clear that isn’t a crime, the defendants told the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois Tuesday.

Snyder v. United States, decided ...