[EDITOR’S NOTE: A previous version of this story incorrectly implied that Zalewski has abstained from every case involving ComEd before the commission.]

Illinois Commerce Commission Chair Carrie Zalewski announced her resignation days before the beginning of the first of two Commonwealth Edison bribery trials in which the Justice Department will try to prove the utility engaged in a years-long scheme to bribe elected Illinois and Chicago politicians for legislation and policies favorable to the company.

Zalewski, a litigation attorney and former assistant chief counsel for the Illinois Department of Transportation and nine-year member of the Illinois Pollution Control Board, was appointed ICC chair in April 2019.

She is the spouse of former State Rep. Michael Zalewski (D), a member of the Democratic House caucus controlled by Speaker Michael Madigan (D), and the daughter-in-law of former Chicago alderman Michael Zalewski (D), who prosecutors said benefited from ComEd’s bribery scheme.

Anne Pramaggiore, former ComEd CEO | © RTO Insider LLC

Prosecutors say that then-ComEd CEO Anne Pramaggiore agreed in 2018 to pay the former alderman about $5,000 a month at Madigan’s request.

Zalewski has not been charged in the bribery probe and told the Chicago Sun-Times she doesn’t expect to be called to testify in the upcoming trial. She declined to comment when asked if she has been questioned or subpoenaed by federal authorities.

Zalewski abstained from voting on one ComEd case since federal prosecutors made the probe public two years ago on the advice of the commission’s general counsel and ethics officer because of the possibility that a relative might have had to testify.

In a LinkedIn post Thursday, Zalewski announced she would resign effective June 16, seven months before her term expires on Jan. 15, 2024. Her five-page resignation letter expressed pride in the ICC’s role in implementing the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act and in providing bill relief to consumers during the COVID 19 pandemic. She did not give a reason for her resignation.

Dozens of colleagues responded to her posting with praise. “Congratulations on an incredibly successful and productive tenure at the ICC!” wrote former Michigan commissioner Sally Talberg.

Gov. JB Pritzker announced Zalewski’s resignation in a joint release Friday.

“Chairman Zalewski served the state of Illinois diligently during a period of challenging unprecedented circumstances and clean energy transition, and her stalwart leadership was essential to the successes of that period,” Pritzker said. “I’m so grateful for her years of service and the long-lasting impact her work will have on building a more equitable and sustainable Illinois for generations to come.”

Pritzker said he will nominate former ICC Chair Doug Scott to replace Zalewski. Scott served as chair from 2011 to 2015 and is the former director of the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency. He is currently vice president of strategic initiatives at the Great Plains Institute.

The governor also announced the appointments of Conrad Reddick and Stacey Paradis to the five-member commission.

Paradis is currently the executive director of the Midwest Energy Efficiency Alliance. Reddick, an attorney, previously represented the Illinois Industrial Energy Consumers and served as special assistant corporation counsel to the city of Chicago on utility oversight issues.

Michael Madigan, former speaker of the Illinois House | Illinois Legislature

In the first bribery trial scheduled to begin March 14, Pramaggiore and three political lobbyists face charges that they schemed to corrupt Madigan, who was the longest-serving state house speaker in the nation.

Prosecutors have alleged the company created a scheme to pay Madigan’s associates over years with contracts, jobs and company internships through “an old time patronage scheme.” (See How ComEd Got its Way with Ill. Legislature.)

The defendants have said their activities were typical of a utility and that the government is seeking to criminalize legal lobbying.

Madigan’s trial is set for April 2024.

ComEd signed a deferred prosecution agreement with the U.S. Attorney’s Chicago office in July 2020, admitting to its efforts to corrupt elected officials, agreeing to pay a $200 million fine and to cooperate with the on-going investigation. (See ComEd to Pay $200 Million in Bribery Scheme.)