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* WBEZ…
After winning Springfield’s support for a multibillion-dollar piece of legislation in 2016, Commonwealth Edison decided to celebrate with a pair of invitation-only events at a Gatsby-esque River North nightspot once known as the Montgomery Club.
The first party featured cocktails and hors d’oeuvres and was to last two to three hours. At the second, more exclusive soiree, ComEd’s retiring top lobbyist was being toasted for getting the bill passed and for a long career in and around state government.
The guest list included more than two dozen executives from ComEd and its parent, Exelon. There were also company lobbyists and the bluest of blue-chip political luminaries: Democratic House Speaker Michael Madigan, whose son was also invited.
But there was another invitee who stood out.
David Kolata and the organization he has led for 15 years, the Citizens Utility Board, are supposed to be thorns in the sides of ComEd and Exelon. But in 2016, Kolata’s consumer advocacy group instead sided with the power companies, enabling them to boost ratepayers’ electricity bills by billions of dollars over a decade to subsidize underperforming nuclear plants.
The story eventually becomes far more nuanced than the fire and brimstone beginning might indicate, so go read the rest.
*** UPDATE *** CUB is out with a long response. Click here to read it.
posted by Rich Miller
Monday, Sep 21, 20 @ 2:00 pm
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I read the whole story this morning. Congrats to WBEZ on another great story.
Not sure where the other news outlets were for the last 15 years.
After reading the whole story it is hard not to be disappointed in CUB and the present state of how Illinois operates.
Comment by Back to the Future Monday, Sep 21, 20 @ 2:14 pm
I will be the first to write it, I don’t know what to even say about this……
Comment by 2000Plus Monday, Sep 21, 20 @ 2:16 pm
Fire and brimstone might be a good nicakname for Mihalopoulos.
Comment by Three Dimensional Checkers Monday, Sep 21, 20 @ 2:18 pm
Who’s cat did CUB run over at WBEZ? Did they forget to re-up their pledge money or something?
Everyone has gotten this same “fact sheet” about CUB for the past year. The fire and brimstone is almost comical when you read that “nuance”.
Comment by Ok Monday, Sep 21, 20 @ 2:36 pm
Actually, the real story is very different. Here’s CUB’s statement: https://bit.ly/3cujW9j Lots of good points here.
Comment by Bobby68 Monday, Sep 21, 20 @ 2:44 pm
It’s an overdue story and incredibly damning and begs the question of what other groups are getting funding from ComEd foundations and then using that $ to advocate for energy policy? Maybe WBEZ will follow up.
Comment by illinoyed Monday, Sep 21, 20 @ 2:48 pm
Whispers about CUB’s independence have been heard for over a decade. PJM’s independent market monitor saw those same Exelon books and came to a very different conclusion. And CUB may have been officially opposed to the 2011 bill (a truly horrific bill from a ratepayer perspective) but they didn’t lift a finger to help stop it. And for what? Some grants?
All that’s to say, Kolata is a smart guy. I think he realized that in the end Exelon always got its way in Illinois. Why not jump on the train to get a small piece of the pie?
All you have to do is compromise the core mission of your organization.
Comment by My favorite Abe Monday, Sep 21, 20 @ 2:55 pm
Nice attempt at “Spin” by CUB. Basically CUB says they are “good” and the report is “bad”.
The news story is well documented.
Generally stating a news article is “false” without any specific facts that were incorrect is nonsense.
Another good job of reporting by WBEZ.
Comment by Back to the Future Monday, Sep 21, 20 @ 2:56 pm
Thanks for highlighting the CUB statement. Really clears up why the head of AARP, the former head of the public utilities division at the AGs office, and other actual consumer advocates would say the things they said on the record in that story. Especially this quote.
“It certainly sounds like they’re part of the Commonwealth Edison or Exelon team,” she said. “It doesn’t sound like they have any kind of independence anymore. It makes you wonder whose side they’re on.”
Also clears up why CUB would be the only consumer advocate represented at that party celebrating McLain.
Comment by ABC Monday, Sep 21, 20 @ 2:56 pm
Great story. For the past decade, it’s been quietly noted in Springfield that CUB wasn’t aggressively defending ratepayers. AARP and AG’s office essentially took over CUB’s role. The other interesting question is what other groups benefited from the utility largesse - though it’s suspected many of the environmental groups who supported FEJA were at the trough as well.
Comment by Rutger Hauer Monday, Sep 21, 20 @ 2:57 pm
I guess people forget this bill had bi-partisan support in all caucuses and was the only bi-partisan measure Rauner probably signed. I am sure the train was on the tracks but to imply CUB could have done anything to stop it is a joke. They have no money and don’t have a fleet of lobbyists.
Comment by Howard Monday, Sep 21, 20 @ 3:04 pm
Honestly, the WBEZ report seems like a deceptively shallow analysis in the guise of another intrepid “investigation.” Not up to their usual standards. Consider: The funding stream at issue was authorized by the legislature in broad daylight 18 years ago, so that’s not exactly news. More importantly, during the bulk of the ensuing 18 years, no one purported that conflict of interest existed because the facts have demonstrated the opposite. CUB was, as usual, antagonizing ComEd in the Springfield and at the ICC. But because there was one instance where CUB’s and ComEd’s positions coincided — on a FEJA bill that drew support from both Bruce Rauner and the Democratic Socialists, not to mention environmental and faith-based groups — we should believe it’s all because of grant money the group received to hold clinics where consumers had their utility bills analyzed? I mean, that logic makes no sense . . . The dozens of ComEd-supported bills and rate hikes that CUB opposed over those 18 years has to matter as much to any fair-minded reporter as the one bill that critics want to fault . . . Also let’s remember that those critics have their own organizational agendas, too. How do you try to cripple affordable clean energy? Looks like WBEZ did their bidding, however inadvertent.
Comment by Really? Monday, Sep 21, 20 @ 3:07 pm
Did they run out of time to find the rest of the story before running this? Because what I’m seeing isn’t much of anything
Comment by 32nd warder Monday, Sep 21, 20 @ 3:27 pm
@howard
1- bipartisan bills can be bad bills too
2- The story is about a clear trend of CUB siding with the utility its supposed to hold accountable, not its position on one piece of legislation
3- CUB being able to stop these bills is not the point. It’s about CUB representing ratepayers and giving a consumer perspective to policy makers.
All you need is to witness the growing chasm between CUB and every other consumer group.
By the way, a utility getting caught bribing legislators for rate hikes is every consumer groups’ PR dream. Yet, CUB was silent for months?
Comment by My favorite Abe Monday, Sep 21, 20 @ 3:33 pm
“How An Illinois Utility Watchdog Got Millions from the Utilities it Watches”: because this is how energy efficiency programs are required to work by **law** because of the disincentives utilities face towards such investment. It’s inexplicable that these reporters conflate this funding with a bribery scheme.
Comment by st37 Monday, Sep 21, 20 @ 3:59 pm
Last I checked, 5 minutes ago, all the financial reports and audits are available on the AGs Charity Database, so how hard could it have been to get them if you wanted to? (Thats a tip for you young investigative Reporters out there)
RICH, You know the deal in Springfield, can you give us Your opinion from seeing it all up close? Is CUB One of the GOOD GUYS or One of the BAD GUYS? Whats Your history with them?
Comment by Do Your Homework First Monday, Sep 21, 20 @ 4:14 pm
Welcome to the blog, new commenter(s). Why do they always show up on energy posts trying to pretend they aren’t “on a side?”
Comment by Ok Monday, Sep 21, 20 @ 4:15 pm
CUB IRS 990 for 2018. Kolata is paid just over $145,000…not bad if you can make that running a small organization.
https://www.causeiq.com/organizations/view_990/363306846/f6c59d68bfdb22b336cfa12d67b09e7d
Comment by JohninChicago Monday, Sep 21, 20 @ 4:27 pm
Howard,
You’re clearly wrong. They do have money, about $11 million from ComEd.
This is just another form of regulatory capture. At no point in their statement did CUB explain why they thought it was ok to take $11 mil from Com Ed. Because it’s indefensible. Dave Kolata made a choice, and he should be held accountable.
Comment by Wizzard of Ozzie Monday, Sep 21, 20 @ 5:04 pm
Adding- The fact that Kolata was invited to the exclusive ComEd victory party says everything you need to know about whether they viewed him as friend or foe. The fact that he had the bad judgment to show up at Com Ed’s fancy victory party tells you whose side he’s on, Com Ed’s or ratepayers.
Comment by Wizzard of Ozzie Monday, Sep 21, 20 @ 5:12 pm
Hack away, boys. As a fan of CUB, I’m glad they have so many enemies. Must be doing something right.
Comment by d Monday, Sep 21, 20 @ 5:21 pm
D- they are supposed to have one enemy. The utilities. And instead they are besties with Com Ed. Taking millions and going to victory parties.
Those going after CUB here are doing it because it’s gross that the organization created as a check on utilities sold out to them.
Comment by Wiz of Oz Monday, Sep 21, 20 @ 5:24 pm
Of course Pat Quinn is on CUB payroll.
Pat Quinn is responsible for 2 things - championing the Cutback that gave Madigan unprecedented power, and the creation of CUB that wastes taxpayer dollars.
So he’s done precisely zero good things for government.
Comment by Hilarious Monday, Sep 21, 20 @ 5:33 pm
Um: how much money has WBEZ taken from Com-Ed and Exelon?
Comment by Thomas Paine Monday, Sep 21, 20 @ 5:35 pm
“Um: how much money has WBEZ taken from Com-Ed and Exelon?”
Apparently not enough if they were so willing to go after the utility lapdog for being too close to the utility and its parent.
Comment by ABC Monday, Sep 21, 20 @ 5:47 pm
From the article: “Editor’s note: In the interest of full disclosure, ComEd is a WBEZ underwriter.”
Comment by Biker Monday, Sep 21, 20 @ 7:25 pm
== The fact that Kolata was invited to the exclusive ComEd victory party says everything you need to know about whether they viewed him as friend or foe.==
It also says a lot that he accepted the invitation. If he is so good at oversight he should not have attended. Very simple. He could be all for the legislation but realized the bad look it would have if he went to their big party.
Comment by low level Monday, Sep 21, 20 @ 7:42 pm
I’m with Ozzie, the longer your the so called watch dog the less ferocious you become.
Comment by Bruce Monday, Sep 21, 20 @ 9:00 pm