Exelon Utilities CEO Retires Amid FBI Probe Of Illinois State Senator Sandoval
CHICAGO (CBS) -- First, Commonwealth Edison and parent company Exelon were hit with a federal subpoena, and now, the chief executive officer of Exelon Utilities is out – effective immediately.
As CBS 2 Political Investigator Dana Kozlov reported Tuesday, the abrupt resignation of Anne Pramaggiore appears to be connected to state Sen. Martin Sandoval and potentially, other Illinois political players and places.
An Exelon spokesman would not connect those dots, but the timeline and the timing of Pramaggiore's retirement – along with information from sources – indicate a strong connection.
The Exelon spokesman would only say Pramaggiore is retiring. Her replacement has already been named.
Pramaggiore has been in her current position only last year, but has been with the utility for over a decade. She was previously the CEO of ComEd.
Pramaggiore, 61, is retiring about a week after ComEd and Exelon confirmed they had been issued federal subpoenas for "records of communications" for Sandoval.
Sandoval's home and Springfield office were raided late last month by the FBI. He happens to be a member of the state's Energy and Public Utilities Committee.
As CBS 2's Jermont Terry reported, it was clear the moment the feds started to investigate Sandoval that the scope of the probe was wide. The search warrant for the federal raids on Sandoval's Springfield office revealed that agents were looking for evidence linked to "items related to any official action taken in exchange for a benefit."
Days after the Sandoval raid, federal agents also raided the village halls in both McCook and Lyons - although no one has confirmed that those raids are connected to either Sandoval or the public utilities' subpoena.
Pramaggiore's resignation also came just days after Sandoval stepped down as state Senate Transportation Committee chairman.
The Exelon spokesman said last week that the company intends to comply with any and all federal inquiries and formed an oversight committee for that purpose.
But he would not give any reason, at all, for Pramaggiore's sudden departure – which has stunned some insiders who saw her as the future of the energy giant.
