Somebody's former GF just got sprung

Chicago's top federal prosecutor 'weighing' options after appeals court formally undoes ComEd convictions

The question of whether to take former ComEd CEO Anne Pramaggiore and lobbyist Michael McClain to trial again comes at a particularly fraught time for U.S. Attorney Andrew Boutros. His office has spent the last three weeks trying to contain fallout after allegations of prosecutorial misconduct led to the collapse of the “Broadview Six” case.

Jun 15, 2026, 6:40pm CDT




Former ComEd CEO Anne Pramaggiore and longtime ComEd lobbyist Michael McClain had their convictions wiped away but could be retried for corruption.

The question of whether to retry two former ComEd officials caught up in a massive corruption investigation officially landed in the lap of U.S. Attorney Andrew Boutros on Monday, when Chicago’s federal appeals court released a 16-page opinion formally wiping out their convictions.

Two months have passed since the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ordered the release from prison of former ComEd CEO Anne Pramaggiore and longtime ComEd lobbyist Michael McClain. That means the opinion from a three-judge panel came as no surprise.

But Boutros refrained from commenting on his plans for Pramaggiore and McClain until after he had a chance to read the appeals court’s official reasoning. The judges’ final opinion found the 2023 conviction of Pramaggiore and McClain legally problematic, but it also ended with a word of caution.

“Do not misread our opinion,” it said. “We are not suggesting that Pramaggiore and McClain are innocent, only that their convictions were flawed and that they have a right to see their sentences vacated.”

U.S. District Judge Manish Shah sentenced Pramaggiore and McClain in 2025 to two years in prison for their role in a lengthy conspiracy to illegally sway former Illinois House Speaker Michael J. Madigan. The former speaker was convicted separately and is still in prison.

In a statement Monday, Boutros called the appeals court’s ruling “well-reasoned and thoughtful.” He also noted that it found “significant and compelling evidence” had been presented at trial.

“Because the Seventh Circuit has stated that the government is ‘entitled to retry’ both defendants ‘at its discretion,’ we are weighing our options and will advise the District Court of our decision at the appropriate time,” Boutros said.