James O’Connor Sr., former ComEd CEO and philanthropic leader, dies

When Fred O’Connor and his wife had just welcomed their now 30-year-old son, the power went out in their Chicago home. O’Connor’s wife, fearing for the newborn in the cold, urged O’Connor to see if he could call in a favor with one of the ComEd repair crews, a familiar sight in Chicago after heavy storms.

While the repair crews wouldn’t be able to make it up the hill to O’Connor’s house for a few hours, the representative on duty told O’Connor she wanted to pass on something else — all of her co-workers’ high regards for his father, recently departed CEO of ComEd.

James O’Connor Sr., who led energy giant Commonwealth Edison for nearly two decades, died in Chicago on Monday night. He was 86.