Chicago, Nov 19 (AP) Four people, including an associate of Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan, were indicted by a federal grand jury on charges they orchestrated a bribery scheme with Commonwealth Edison.

The alleged scheme provided do-nothing jobs to Madigan loyalists in exchange for the speaker's help with state legislation.

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Those charged with bribery and conspiracy on Wednesday included Michael McClain, 73, of Quincy; former ComEd CEO Anne Pramaggirore, 62, of Barrington; lobbyist and former ComEd executive John Hooker, 71, of Chicago; and Jay Doherty 67, a consultant and former head of the City Club of Chicago.

In addition to jobs and contracts, the defendants are accused of conspiring to have ComEd hire a law firm favoured by Madigan and to accept into ComEd's internship programme students who resided in Madigan's 13th Ward, even though some didn't meet its requirements, according to the indictment.

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McClain served with Madigan in the House in the 1970s and early 1980s before McClain became a lobbyist who had ComEd as a client.

McClain's defence attorney, Patrick Cotter, said the charges against his client were the result of a misguided investigation and driven by a desire to find a way to criminally implicate Madigan.

Attorneys for Pramaggiore and Doherty also rejected allegations of wrongdoing by their clients. There were no immediate comments from Hooker.

ComEd admitted in a deferred prosecution agreement signed with the US attorney for the northern district of Illinois in July that its top administrators offered no-work lobbyist jobs and sub-contracts to allies of Madigan in exchange for favourable legislation. Madigan is identified in the document only as House speaker.

Madigan hasn't been charged in connection with the alleged scheme and denies any wrongdoing. But he was singled out earlier this year when prosecutors announced ComEd would pay USD 200 million under a deferred prosecution deal that requires the utility to fully cooperate with the ongoing investigation.

The case prompted a legislative probe of Madigan's dealings with ComEd and raised questions about whether Madigan will be able to hold onto power.

Three of Illinois leading Democrats, Governor J B Pritzker and Senators Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth, have called on Madigan to step down as state party chairman.

Madigan has denied wrongdoing or personal knowledge of the bribery scheme. He has said he never expected someone to be hired for a job in exchange for an action he took.

“Helping people find jobs is not a crime,” Madigan wrote in a letter to House colleagues earlier this year.

Former ComEd executive Fidel Marquez pleaded guilty to bribery in September, agreeing to cooperate with federal prosecutors. (AP)

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)