Former City Club President Jay Doherty was sentenced to one year in prison for his role in a scheme to illegally influence then-Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan on behalf of ComEd.
U.S. District Judge Manish Shah delivered the sentence in a Chicago courtroom Tuesday. He said Doherty was key to maintaining a “secret relationship” between the utility and the former House speaker.
“You and your company were the metaphoric cash in an envelope that amounted to bribes,” Shah said from the bench.
Shah’s sentence came after Doherty addressed the judge and took responsibility for his crimes.
“I’m here to tell you that I was wrong, in my actions and in my thinking. I spent my entire life in my career being a person that connected people. That built relationships,” Doherty said. “Now I see I was not being honorable. Some time over the years, instead of seeing my job as a means of service, it became simply a way to make more money and build myself up — to gain, not give.”
Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah Streicker told the judge that Doherty “acted as a front which allowed a bribery scheme to continue.”
“He allowed Madigan-affiliated subcontractors to hide behind his contract with ComEd,” Streicker said.
Doherty is the last of the four ComEd defendants to learn his fate. The judge has also given an 18-month prison sentence to ex-ComEd lobbyist John Hooker, and a pair of two-year prison sentences to ex-ComEd CEO Anne Pramaggiore and Madigan fixer Michael McClain.
Prosecutors sought a 15-month prison sentence for Doherty, arguing that “Doherty played a critical role” in their lengthy scheme. But Doherty’s attorney, Gabrielle Sansonetti, asked the judge not to send him to prison.
She argued that Doherty was “an integral and essential part of three of the most respected and honorable institutions in Chicago — the City Club, Misericordia and Special Olympics.”
Though Doherty was once “a bright light in the most respected areas of Chicago,” Sansonetti argued, “his formerly impeccable reputation is decimated.”
A jury in May 2023 convicted McClain, Pramaggiore, Hooker and Doherty for their role in the plot meant to illegally curry favor with Madigan in Springfield. The four arranged for ComEd to pay $1.3 million to five Madigan allies over eight years. The recipients did hardly any work for the utility, and the money was funneled through third-party firms.
Nearly $1 million of it moved through Doherty’s consulting firm, and Doherty was caught discussing the situation on a secret FBI wire worn by onetime ComEd executive Fidel Marquez.
Marquez and Doherty discussed the arrangement with Madigan’s allies on Feb. 13, 2019, with Marquez wearing his wire in a bid to avoid prison. Marquez claimed that he had to explain the arrangement to the person who had replaced Pramaggiore as ComEd’s CEO.
“Do they do anything?” Marquez asked Doherty, referring to Madigan’s allies. “Or, what do they do? What do you have ‘em doing?”
“Not much, to answer the question,” Doherty told him. “Not much.”
Doherty continued his explanation, asking Marquez, “Your money comes from Springfield. ComEd money, right? I mean, for the most part.”
“My bottom line advice would be, ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’ with those guys,” Doherty said. “I don’t think, you know, you’ve been around the game, and you know, again, Madigan doesn’t ask. I never, ever once had a conversation with Mike about these people. But I know that, I have every reason to believe, that McClain has.”
Doherty told Marquez that, “They keep their mouth shut. … Do they do anything for me on a day-to-day basis? No.”
A jury convicted Madigan in February, after a separate trial, partly for his role in the ComEd conspiracy. The former speaker has since been sentenced to 7½ years in prison.
Madigan and Pramaggiore have appealed their convictions. McClain is expected to do the same. And a team of heavyweight lawyers with extensive experience in the U.S. Supreme Court is taking shape to argue on their behalf.
Its members include “legendary” Supreme Court advocate Lisa Blatt, representing Madigan, and former Solicitor General Paul Clement representing Pramaggiore.
Marquez has yet to be sentenced. No hearing date has been set.
Meanwhile, Madigan has asked a judge to let him remain free while the appeal plays out.
The judge has yet to rule.