Illinois
Former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan is in prison
Michael J. Madigan, the country’s longest-serving state House leader and the longtime head of Illinois’ Democratic Party, is in prison.
Madigan surrendered Monday to a minimum-security federal prison camp in Morgantown, West Virginia, according to a source close to the former speaker.
That facility is 500 miles away from Chicago, just south of Pittsburgh.
Madigan had asked to serve his time at a prison camp in nearby Terre Haute, Indiana, instead. Either way, he was required to begin serving his sentence at 2 p.m. Monday.
Prison camps like the one in Morgantown are known to have little to no fencing. And inmates have access to a prison commissary. At Morgantown, Madigan could purchase pitted dates for $4.35, a chess set for $7.10 and an alarm clock for $10, according to a menu online.
U.S. District Judge John Blakey handed Madigan a 7½-year prison sentence in June, four months after a jury convicted him of a bribery conspiracy, wire fraud and other crimes. Madigan testified in his own defense at trial, and Blakey found that Madigan lied to the jury.
“You lied sir. You lied,” Blakey said during Madigan’s sentencing hearing. “You did not have to. You had a right to sit there and exercise your right to silence. But you took that stand and you took the law into your own hands.”
Madigan’s surrender caps a massive corruption investigation that hearkens back to an earlier era at Chicago’s federal courthouse. The probe began in 2014. But it wasn’t until Jan. 29, 2019, that the Chicago Sun-Times revealed the FBI had secretly recorded Madigan inside his private law office.
About 20 people have since been charged. Madigan is the 11th to report to prison. Three others are due behind bars in the coming weeks.
Madigan’s conviction centered on two schemes. In one, ComEd paid five Madigan allies $1.3 million over eight years so Madigan would look more favorably at the utility’s legislation. The money was funneled through third-party firms, and the recipients did hardly any work for ComEd.
Former Ald. Danny Solis (25th) walks out of the Dirksen Federal Courthouse Tuesday after testifying in the racketeering conspiracy trial for Illinois’ former House Speaker Michael Madigan.
The other involved a deal to have then-Chicago Ald. Danny Solis installed on a state board in exchange for Solis’ help landing private business for Madigan’s tax appeal law firm.
Madigan has filed an appeal, but the appellate court denied his request to remain free while it plays out.
Madigan led the Illinois House of Representatives for all but two years between 1983 and 2021. He held onto the gavel for two years after the feds’ investigation went public in 2019.
Federal prosecutors filed a criminal charge against ComEd in July 2020. Then, in November of that year, they also charged four ComEd officials and lobbyists for their role in the conspiracy to illegally sway the powerful House speaker.
Longtime Madigan ally Michael McClain, former ComEd CEO Anne Pramaggiore, ex-ComEd lobbyist John Hooker and onetime City Club President Jay Doherty were all convicted in 2023 for their role in the conspiracy.
Doherty is now in prison, serving a one-year sentence. Hooker is due to surrender Tuesday to begin an 18-month term. McClain and Pramaggiore were each sentenced to two years behind bars, and they are due to report Oct. 30 and Dec. 1, respectively.
The four were indicted two months before a House vote for speaker. The burgeoning investigation prevented Madigan from mustering enough votes to keep the gavel when the time came, so he relinquished it to current Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch.
The feds didn’t level charges against Madigan until March 2022. That’s when a grand jury handed up a 106-page racketeering conspiracy indictment against him and McClain. Their eventual trial began one year ago, in the fall of 2024.
The trial lasted four months and featured more than 60 witnesses.
Key among them was Solis, an early target of the investigation. FBI agents confronted him in June 2016 and persuaded him to wear a wire against Madigan and others, like former Chicago Ald. Edward M. Burke.
Burke also went to prison for racketeering and served nine months of a two-year sentence.
In exchange for Solis’ help, prosecutors agreed to drop a bribery charge filed against him. They kept their word earlier this year after Madigan’s conviction.
Despite the flurry of convictions against Madigan, McClain, Burke and others, Solis walked away without any conviction of his own, and with his City Hall pension intact.
SYCAMORE, Ill. – A Sycamore mother said she is still waiting for justice more than two years after her teenage son was stabbed to death.
The case is back in court this week, where a judge will consider a key request that could change how the case moves forward.
What we know:
A mother said her son’s life was cut short during a confrontation that turned deadly.
Heather Gerken said her 17-year-old son, Kaleb McCall, was stabbed during an incident in September 2023. She said Kaleb agreed to meet another teen for what he believed would be a fist fight while sticking up for a friend.
According to Gerken, the other teen, who was 15 at the time, pulled a knife and stabbed Kaleb in the chest. Kaleb later died from his injuries.
Gerken said a jury later found that teen guilty of second-degree murder after the defense argued he acted in self-defense.
Dig deeper:
The case is not over.
Gerken says the defendant’s attorneys are now trying to move the case out of adult court and into juvenile court. That decision could impact how the teen is ultimately sentenced.
What they’re saying:
Gerken said the legal process has been long and frustrating.
She said the case has stretched on for more than two and a half years and that ongoing court proceedings have made it difficult for her to grieve her son.
“He was everybody’s big brother,” Gerken said. “He had the biggest smile and the sweetest personality. He enjoyed fishing and being outside, and he was the best gift giver. He always got me flowers for every little holiday. Just a very thoughtful boy.”
Gerken also said the possibility of the case moving to juvenile court is especially upsetting, as she continues to push for what she believes is justice for her son.
“I don’t want anybody else’s child to die the way that my son died,” Gerken said. “Caleb is my whole world. I gave birth to him at 17 and he changed my life completely. He made me a better person. He taught me what real love truly is…And I just miss him so much more every day. And just knowing that he died the way he did. It makes me sick.”
What’s next:
The case returns to court Thursday morning.
A judge is expected to determine whether the case remains in adult court or is moved to juvenile court, a decision that could shape what happens next in the case.
The Source: The information in this article was reported by FOX Chicago’s Lauren Scafidi.
Millions of asylum seekers have been impacted as caseloads have grown
A general crackdown on immigration courts the administration sees as liberal has led to the firing of dozens of immigration judges.
Recent polls show President Donald Trump’s approval ratings continue to dip as the war in Iran endures and national gas prices float above $4.
One such poll conducted by CNN/SSRS illustrates widespread upset among Americans with regards to Trump’s handling of the economy and inflation. Here’s how Trump’s approval ratings look nationally and within Illinois, as of April 20.
Donald Trump approval rating: CNN
Only 31% of Americans approve of how Trump is handling the economy, compared to 39% in January 2026, according to the poll.
The decline in approval on the issue is even higher among Republicans, especially Republicans under 45 years old, according to CNN.
In the poll, President Donald Trump received his worst approval rating yet in either of his two terms on the economy.
CNN findings show about two-thirds of Americans say Trump’s policies have worsened economic conditions, and 27% say they approve of Trump’s handling of inflation.
CNN also reported 63% of Americans say the prices at the pump have caused financial hardship in their household, including 15% calling it “severe.”
The poll, conducted March 26-30 among 1,201 U.S. adults, found 35% approve of Trump’s job performance overall. The poll’s margin of error is plus or minus 3.2 percentage points.
One poll respondent told CNN and the pollster about the most important issue facing the country: “Prices! Everything is so expensive. Makes it very difficult to do anything other than work and go home. Trips to the grocery store are ridiculous! Between gas and grocery prices, we are poor!”
Trump addressed the concerns about gas prices in his address to the nation on April 1, saying the Strait of Hormuz would reopen when the conflict was over and the prices would fall again.
Trump reaffirmed his promise about the strait on April 18, saying his administration had “very good conversations going on” with Iran after the country said the strait would not be reopened.
Donald Trump approval rating in Illinois: Civiqs
Trump’s job approval rating in Illinois, as of April 18, according to data from online survey platform Civiqs, is as follows:
- Approve — 32%.
- Disapprove — 65%.
- Neither — 4%.
Donald Trump national approval rating: Civiqs
Trump’s national approval rating as of April 13, according to data from Civiqs, is as follows:
- Approve — 39%.
- Disapprove — 57%.
- Neither — 4%.
Donald Trump approval rating in Illinois: The Economist
Trump has a -36% net approval rating in Illinois as of April 20, according to data from The Economist.
Donald Trump national approval rating: The Economist
Trump’s national approval rating as of April 20, according to data from The Economist, is as follows:
- Approve — 38%.
- Disapprove — 56%.
- Don’t know — 7%.
Trump, Iran War approval rating: Pew Research Center
A Pew Research study conducted in mid-March found that about six-in-ten Americans (61%) approve of Trump’s handling of the conflict in Iran, with 39% approving.
A report released in early April found that the largest concern for most Americans as a result of the conflict is higher gas prices, with 69% saying they are “extremely” or “very” concerned about the issue.
Other Trump approval rating polls as of April 20
Here is a look at some other polling aggregators to understand how CNN/SSRS’s poll compares to the average Trump approval numbers as of April 20:
RealClearPolitics Poll Average: 41.2% approve, 56.6% disapprove.
The New York Times: 40% approve, 56% disapprove.
Silver Bulletin: 39.7% approve, 56.4% disapprove.
Which president has the lowest approval rating ever?
Although Trump has dropped to a historic low in approval rating polls this term so far, he hit a 34% low in the first term and other recent presidents such as Joe Biden hit a 36% low, Barack Obama hit a 40% low, George W. Bush hit a 25% low and Bill Clinton hit a 37% low, according to the Gallup polls, whose recorded lowest rating was Harry Truman with 22%.
As for the highest presidential approval ratings, George W. Bush holds the highest approval rating ever recorded at 90%, while his father, George H. Bush holds the second highest at 89%.
Trump is the only president that has not reached a 50% or higher approval to date in the Gallup polls’ history.
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.
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