State Sen. Dave Koehler, D-Ill., said he is donating to a non-profit agency any contributions his campaign has received from power company Commonwealth Edison since 2012.
This comes after federal prosecutorsfiled criminal charges against the utility Friday morning in an alleged years-long bribery scheme that also implicated Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan, D-Chicago. Madigan wasn't charged, though prosecutors say their investigation continues.
The company agreed to pay a $200 million fine and continue cooperating with federal investigations.
Koehler said he was "very disturbed" when he saw the ComEd reports.
“I have consistently supported reforms that make our politics more transparent and hold bad actors accountable," Koehler said in a prepared statement. "When I learned of the news this morning, I donated all of the money my campaign has received from ComEd since 2012 to the Center for Prevention of Abuse, a non-profit that assists the victims of domestic violence that has seen increased calls about domestic violence during the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Earlier Friday afternoon, Mary Burress, the Tazewell County treasurer who's running for Koehler's seat as a Republican, called on the senator to donate the funds received from both ComEd and the Democratic Party of Illinois, which Madigan chairs.
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