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Final “ComEd Four” Convict Sentenced to Prison. A federal judge sentenced the last of the “ComEd Four” convicts to a one-year prison sentence this week for his involvement in the Mike Madigan bribery scheme that ensnared multiple lobbyists and politicians.
Longtime ComEd lobbyist and ex-City Club of Chicago head Jay Doherty will serve one year and a day in prison for his crimes.
For eight years, Doherty agreed to use his consulting company as a pass-through in order to pay several political allies of Madigan’s, who did nothing for ComEd but received monthly checks ranging from $4,000 to $5,000. Two separate juries have found the payments were the cornerstone of a larger bribery scheme aimed at influencing Madigan while the utility pushed for major legislation in Springfield. […]
The former lobbyist is the final of the “ComEd Four” to be sentenced after a series of hearings last month. [U.S. District Judge Manish] Shah on Tuesday said Doherty was the least culpable of the group, but said his crimes were still serious enough to warrant incarceration.
“Behind the scenes, you played a criminal game that undermines all that the soft power that persuasion, organization and debate is meant to achieve, how civic, lawful democracy is supposed to work.” the judge said. “You cheated the very thing you put a face to at the City Club of Chicago.”
The ComEd Four were convicted in 2023 after a six-week trial featuring hundreds of wiretapped phone calls and several secretly recorded videos. In one of those tapes, ComEd executive-turned-FBI mole Fidel Marquez asked Doherty what the subcontractors were doing for him.
“Not much,” Doherty answered, adding that he rarely even spoke with the subcontractors but “they keep their mouth shut.”
Later in the meeting, Doherty told Marquez that it’s “worth it” to “keep Mike Madigan happy.”
“No. 1: Your money comes from Springfield,” Doherty said of ComEd, referring to the state’s regulatory process for approving utility rates. “… My bottom line advice would be, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it with those guys.”
Sentencings for Doherty and his co-defendants were put on hold for more than two years, delayed by concerns of possible impact from a U.S. Supreme Court ruling, the death of the original judge who oversaw their case, and Madigan’s own lengthy trial. The former speaker was convicted on 10 corruption charges in February and sentenced to 7 ½ years in prison earlier this summer.
Read more on the “ComEd 4” sentencing from Capitol News Illinois.
GERRYMANDERING
Governor JB Pritzker’s Hypocrisy on Gerrymandering & Fair Maps. Governor Pritzker hit the late-night talk show circuit this week, sitting with soon-to-be-canceled late night host Stephen Colbert, while threatening to rewrite Illinois' congressional maps to draw even more Democratic districts. Gov. Pritzker’s Fair Map hypocrisy knows no bounds.
Colbert held up a map of Illinois’ congressional districts, noting the unusual shapes of the 17th and 13th congressional districts. “It’s like the stinger on a scorpion down there,” Colbert said of the 13th District.
“We handed it over to a kindergarten class and let them decide… That’s our independent commission,” Gov. Pritzker said.
In a 2016 address to the Illinois General Assembly, then-President Barack Obama called for changes to the way legislative maps are drawn. Governor Pritzker went on to sign the most gerrymandered maps in the country that were drawn by his Democratic Supermajority in the Legislature.
JB Pritzker and his supermajority Illinois Democrats have blocked all efforts at creating an independent redistricting commission so Democratic politicians can draw the maps themselves behind closed doors.
Citizens should be picking their politicians, not Democratic politicians picking their voters.
House Republicans have championed independent redistricting through HJRCA 5 and fought illegal maps in Illinois’ courts. Sign our petition to end gerrymandering now!
WSJ Editorial: The Democratic Protectorate of Illinois
The Wall Street Journal highlighted the hypocrisy and grandstanding from Illinois Democrats as they rally against gerrymandering - despite consistently passing the most gerrymandered maps in the nation.
Texas Democrats have fled to Illinois to escape having to vote in Austin on the Republican plan to gerrymander the Lone Star State’s Congressional district map. The destination is amusing since no one knows more about partisan gerrymanders than Illinois Democrats.
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and his allies purport to be outraged by the new Texas map, which could yield the GOP from three to five new House seats. But ol’ JB knows how that’s done. Illinois has 17 House seats, and 14 of them are held by Democrats.
BUDGET
CGFA Revenue Report Shows Worsening Fiscal Picture. The Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability’s July 2025 revenue report showed weakness in a key number that represents a vital element of the State’s cash flow. Personal income tax receipts for July 2025, reported to CGFA by the Illinois Department of Revenue, showed a negative trend line, with income taxes paid dropping by $114 million from the year-earlier level. July 2025 corporate income tax receipts were also down from one year earlier.
While Illinois reported higher revenue in July 2025 from taxes on sales, estates, insurance, and sports betting, these increases were not sufficient to make up for the loss in income tax receipts. The consolidated figures, reflecting combined revenue totals covering a variety of income lines, show a new July 2025 decline (relative to one year earlier) of $33 million in Illinois taxes oriented towards general revenue; a parallel decline of $29 million in general revenues with respect to general revenues other than taxes, such as Illinois State Lottery proceeds and federal aid; and a decline of $35 million in all general funds available to the Comptroller in FY26, after slices of these general funds have been set aside for Illinois tax refunds and for aid payments to Illinois local governments.
TRANSPORTATION
Illinois Tollway Explores Dynamic Pricing Scheme. The Illinois Tollway system is exploring a scheme to charge drivers according to traffic conditions. Learn more about how this change would impact your commute and the cost you pay to drive during times of high traffic congestion.
IDOT seeking feedback on the Southwest Connector. The Southwest Connector could speed up traffic between southern Illinois and the Metro-East area adjacent to St. Louis. The project would build a link between two existing parkway segments that terminate in Waterloo and Murphysboro, Illinois. The existing Waterloo parkway road, Illinois Route 3, connects Waterloo and central Monroe County with the Metro-East’s Interstate 255. The Murphysboro parkway road, Illinois Route 13, connects Murphysboro and Jackson County with Interstate 57 in Southern Illinois.
The proposal includes plans to build what would be a four-lane highway throughout its entire length. This is a stretch of highway of more than 70 miles in length that, currently, is made up of two-lane roads with some passing lanes. Construction of the planned highway could cost as much as $1 billion.
ILLINOIS STATE FAIR
Illinois State Fair begins this week. Running from August 7th through the 17th, the Illinois State Fair includes concerts, rides, exhibits, Illinois-grown food and wine, races, and many specialty events. Each day of the Fair is devoted to a specific theme, such as “Veterans and Gold Star Families” (Sunday, August 10) or “First Responder and Healthcare Heroes Day” (Friday, August 15). While an adult admission fee is charged, children up to age 12 are always free, and three of the theme days offer free admission to theme-honored persons with status identification.
The Illinois State Fair is celebrated annually in Springfield, Illinois. The DuQuoin State Fair, a full-fledged second State Fair centering on the culture and life of Southern Illinois, will be held near DuQuoin, Illinois from Friday, August 22 until Labor Day Monday, September 1.