Illinois
Prosecutors rest case in corruption trial of ex-Illinois House speaker Michael Madigan
CHICAGO – The prosecution rested its case in the federal corruption trial of former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan on Wednesday.
The trial has been going on for several weeks as jurors have heard from former aides, business executives, elected officials, and others about Madigan’s power and influence in state government and his alleged schemes to benefit himself and his allies.
Attorneys are still expected to give their closing arguments in the coming days before jurors will be left to decide on a verdict.
The charges
Madigan, the longest-serving legislative leader in American history, was charged in a 23-count indictment for bribery, racketeering, wire fraud, and other crimes.
He’s been accused of using his influence as Speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives and as head of the state’s Democratic Party to amass more power and benefit his private tax law practice.
Among other schemes, Madigan is accused of using his influence in government to pass legislation favorable to certain companies like Commonwealth Edison, the electric utility company, in exchange for benefits like no-show jobs and internships for his allies.
“When Madigan saw an opportunity to enrich himself, he took it,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah Streicker told the jurors.
Madigan has denied wrongdoing.
His longtime confidant Michael McClain is also standing trial, though he was already convicted in a separate but related bribery conspiracy case last year involving ComEd.
Secret recordings
Prosecutors have played secret recordings made by witnesses like former Chicago Ald. Danny Solis, who led the powerful Zoning Committee.
During more than 23 hours of testimony, Solid told jurors that federal agents approached him in 2016, and he agreed to cooperate to avoid prison time for admitted wrongdoing, including bribery. He met with Madigan about projects in his ward as the former speaker sought business for his tax firm.
Defense attorneys argued Solis was an unreliable witness for past financial wrongdoing and misspending campaign funds.
Solis said Madigan’s influence would be helpful to him, so he wanted to “curry favor” with the powerful speaker by introducing him to real estate developers whom he could recruit as clients.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
CENTRALIA, Ill. – An investigation is underway after multiple people were shot Sunday in Centralia, Illinois, according to a report from WFCN News in southern Illinois.
FOX 2 has confirmed the Illinois State Police is investigating a shooting and taking over the investigation, but ISP could not confirm many further details as of 9 p.m. Sunday.
“The investigation is in its infancy and to protect the integrity of the investigation, no additional details will be released at this time,” ISP said in a statement to FOX 2.
According to WFCN News, the shooting happened around 5 p.m. near the 900 block of East Kell Street in Centralia. Multiple law enforcement agencies have since responded to scene and multiple victims are hospitalized, according to the report.
It’s unclear how many people may have been injured and what led up to the shooting.
Centralia, Illinois is about 70 miles, or just over an hour, east of St. Louis.
This is a developing story. FOX 2 will update as more information becomes available.
The National Weather Service has teams of storm surveryors in the field April 18 investigating several reports of severe storms and tornado touch downs across eastern Iowa, northwest Illinois and northeast Missouri.
According to the weather service’s website, windgusts of up to 60 to 70 mph along with teacup-sized hail and several tornadoes were reported April 17.
Many homes and outbuildings were damaged, trees were uprooted and power lines were downed in Lena, Illinois, where the most significant damage occurred, the site pointed out.
Very strong winds also were reported near Washington, Iowa, and Colmar, Illinois, where several outbuildings and grain bins were destroyed.
The weather service received reports of confirmed and possible tornadoes in the areas of Lena, Pecatonica, Shirland, Rockton, Roscoe and Capron.
The teams will be assessing damage this weekend into next week along with county emergency management teams to determine what types of storms occurred and their paths.
Dozens of power outages were reported, as well.
As of the afternoon of April 18, ComEd was reporting 85 active power outages across northern Illinois, down from 241 on April 17, and 6,751 customers affected, down from more than 18,000.
The bulk of those outages and the most customers impacted are concentrated in Jo Daviess and Stephenson counties.
Freeze Watch
from MON 12:00 AM CDT until MON 9:00 AM CDT, Lake County, Kankakee County, La Salle County, DuPage County, Northern Will County, DeKalb County, Southern Will County, Kendall County, Southern Cook County, Northern Cook County, Grundy County, Eastern Will County, Kane County, McHenry County, Lake County, Newton County, Jasper County, Porter County
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