Editorial: How they voted on ComEd
Editorials November 3, 2011 6:40PM
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Updated: December 6, 2011 8:09AM
Did your legislator vote in your best interest? Or in ComEd’s best interest? Or are the two one and the same?
When so much money has been thrown around, you have every right to suspect the worst.
The chart below lists state legislators in the six-county Chicago area, how they voted on recent legislation that will raise electric utility rates and how much campaign cash they received since January from the electric industry, most notably ComEd and Ameren.
The bill passed in May. A second vote last month was enough to override a veto by Gov. Pat Quinn.
The trend is easy to spot — a vote with the electric industry paid off nicely.
Supporters of the “smart grid” legislation outspent opponents 4-1, with legislators who sided with ComEd taking in an average of $7,616. Opponents took home $1,420 from groups fighting the legislation, according to an analysis by the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform. The biggest winners were state legislative leaders, all four of whom supported the legislation.
To be fair, many legislators likely favored the bill on its merits, not because of ComEd cash. Though we opposed the bill, its supporters made a strong case. But when money and votes walk so lovingly hand-in-hand, who really can say? This is the corrupting power of money in politics.
Here’s how much money your legislators got from the power companies and how they voted.
Make of that what you will.
Illinois Senate
NOTE: The first letter after a legislator’s name indicates how the legislator voted on the ComEd/Ameren bill in May. The second letter is the vote to override Gov. Pat Quinn’s veto. The dollar figure represents the total of campaign contributions from the electric industry in 2011.
| Legislator | Comed/Ameren | Override veto | Campaign contributions | Legislator | Comed/Ameren | Override veto | Campaign contributions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pamela Althoff | Y | Y | $4,500 | Ed Maloney | N | N | $500 |
| Annazette Collins | Y | Y | $8,250 | Iris Martinez | Y | Y | $1,250 |
| Jacqueline Collins | P | P | James Meeks | Y | Y | $11,000 | |
| M. Maggie Crotty | N | Y | $1,500 | John Millner | Y | Y | $6,050 |
| John Cullerton | Y | Y | $90,750 | John Mulroe | P | P | $2,500 |
| William Delgado | Y | Y | $1,000 | Antonio Munoz | Y | Y | $9,600 |
| Kirk Dillard | Y | Y | $19,000 | Matt Murphy | Y | Y | $4,250 |
| Dan Duffy | N | N | Michael Noland | Y | Y | $4,750 | |
| Susan Garrett | P | N | Carole Pankau | Y | Y | $6,350 | |
| Don Harmon | N | Y | $11,500 | Christine Radogno | Y | Y | $85,650 |
| Linda Holmes | P | Y | $1,250 | Kwame Raoul | Y | Y | $2,500 |
| Mattie Hunter | Y | Y | $7,000 | Ron Sandack | Y | Y | |
| Toi Hutchinson | Y | Y | $11,000 | Martin Sandoval | Y | Y | $500 |
| Thomas Johnson | Y | Y | Suzi Schmidt | N | N | $1,500 | |
| Emil Jones III | Y | Y | $1,000 | Jeff Schoenberg | N | N | $1,500 |
| Steven Landek | Y | Y | Ira Silverstein | N | N | $750 | |
| Chris Lauzen | N | N | $2,000 | Heather Steans | N | N | $750 |
| Kimberly Lightford | Y | Y | $5,500 | Donne Trotter | Y | Y | $6,000 |
| Terry Link | N | Y | $5,000 | A.J.Wilhelmi | Y | Y | $7,700 |
Illinois House
| Legislator | Comed/Ameren | Override veto | Campaign contributions | Legislator | Comed/Ameren | Override veto | Campaign contributions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Edward Acevedo | Y | Y | $12,000 | Renee Kosel | Y | Y | $6,550 |
| Luis Arroyo | Y | Y | $4,570 | Lou Lang | N | Y | $15,500 |
| Mark Beaubien Jr. | Y | * | $250 | Camille Lilly | N | N | $1,500 |
| Patricia Bellock | Y | Y | Joseph Lyons | Y | Y | $1,000 | |
| Maria A. Berrios | Y | Y | Michael Madigan | Y | Y | $58,300 | |
| Daniel Biss | N | N | $1,000 | Sidney Mathias | N | N | |
| Daniel Burke | Y | Y | $3,250 | Karen May | Y | Y | $1,500 |
| Kelly Burke | N | N | $200 | Rita Mayfield | N | Y | $1,250 |
| Dena Carli | Y | Y | Emily McAsey | N | N | ||
| Kelly Cassidy | N | N | Michael McAuliffe | Y | Y | $2,600 | |
| Linda C. LaVia | Y | Y | $5,250 | Kevin McCarthy | Y | Y | $1,000 |
| F. Coladipietro | Y | E | Jack McGuire | Y | Y | ||
| Sandy Cole | N | N | Deborah Mell | N | N | ||
| Marlow Colvin | Y | Y | $2,000 | Thomas Morrison | Y | Y | $750 |
| Michael Connelly | Y | Y | $4,250 | Rosemary Mulligan | N | N | |
| Fred Crespo | N | N | $2,000 | M. Mussman | N | N | |
| Tom Cross | Y | Y | $105,750 | Elaine Nekritz | N | N | $2,750 |
| W. Cunningham | N | N | $1,000 | Chris Nybo | Y | Y | $5,500 |
| Barbara F. Currie | Y | Y | $5,000 | JoAnn Osmond | Y | Y | $2,250 |
| John D’Amico | N | N | $1,750 | Sandra Pihos | Y | Y | $1,250 |
| Monique Davis | N | Y | $1,000 | Randy Ramey Jr. | Y | Y | $500 |
| William Davis | Y | Y | $6,000 | David Reboletti | Y | Y | $2,500 |
| Anthony DeLuca | N | Y | Al Riley | N | N | $1,000 | |
| K. du Buclet | Y | Y | $1,500 | Robert Rita | Y | Y | $2,000 |
| Kenneth Dunkin | Y | Y | $2,000 | Angelo Saviano | Y | Y | $3,250 |
| Keith Farnham | N | N | $250 | Timothy Schmitz | Y | Y | $1,000 |
| Sara Feigenholtz | N | N | $750 | Darlene Senger | Y | Y | $1,250 |
| Mary Flowers | N | Y | $250 | Carol Sente | N | N | $500 |
| La Shawn Ford | N | N | $500 | Derrick Smith | Y | Y | $2,750 |
| Mike Fortner | Y | Y | $450 | Keith Sommer | N | N | |
| Jack Franks | N | Y | $250.00 | Cynthia Soto | Y | Y | $3,000 |
| Robyn Gabel | Y | Y | Ed Sullivan Jr. | Y | Y | $3,500 | |
| Kent Gaffney | * | N | $1,500 | Andre Thapedi | P | Y | $3,750 |
| Esther Golar | N | N | Jil Tracy | Y | Y | $2,250 | |
| Norine Hammond | N | N | $1,900 | Michael Tryon | Y | Y | $5,750 |
| David Harris | N | N | Arthur Turner | Y | Y | $2,450 | |
| Greg Harris | N | N | P. Verschoore | Y | Y | $10,250 | |
| E. Hernandez | Y | Y | $3,800 | Ann Williams | N | N | $250 |
| Constance Howard | N | Y | Karen Yarbrough | Y | Y | $5,750 | |
| Thaddeus Jones | N | Y | $3,750 | Mike Zalewski | Y | N | $2,000 |
* Member not in Legislature at time of vote.
