Illinois GOP quick to pounce on ‘ComEd Four’ verdicts, but even party insiders say outcome might not move the needle much in deeply blue state

CHICAGO -- Thefederal convictions of four people on bribery conspiracy charges for providing favors to gain influence with former Democratic House Speaker Michael Madigan could be seen as a vital opening for Illinois Republicans, who have been bordering on irrelevancy in a state controlled by one party. But there are doubts, even among some within the GOP, that the convictions of the “ComEd Four” will move the needle much with voters who next year also will be weighing the GOP’s increasingly rightward platform on social issues that include abortion, gay and transgender rights and gun restricti...