So far this year Illinoisans have watched two major ‘political influence’ trials come and go when five individuals were charged with a variety of felonies - ranging from bribery, conspiracy, and falsifying corporate records to perjury and obstruction of justice.

This past April in the first trial, colloquially referred to as the ‘ComEd Four’, former Commonwealth Edison executives and lobbyists were found guilty in federal court of using company resources, including hiring individuals at the request of the then Illinois Speaker of the House, to ‘grease the skids’ in terms of getting ComEd’s legislative agendas passed and circumvent the regulatory authority of the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC).