The convictions of former ComEd CEO Anne Pramaggiore and lobbyist Michael McClain, who were convicted in the historic bribery trial three years ago, appear to be on thin ice. The 7th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals heard questions from a government lawyer about the conspiracy conviction after recent Supreme Court rulings stated that "gratuities" given to elected officials with no direct ties to official actions are not illegal. A district court judge had previously overturned underlying bribery convictions in the case but left intact the main conspiracy count and guilty verdicts on other counts of falsifying ComEd’s books and records. Paul Clement, the lead attorney for Pramagiore, argued that there was no way for the court to know that the jury didn’t convict the defendants based on bribery theories and therefore a new trial was inevitable. Another judge, Judge Joshua Kolar, also questioned the legitimacy of the conspiracy counts.