Illinois
Madigan trial: Former Illinois House Speaker returns to the witness stand
Madigan back on the stand for cross-examination
Former Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan returned to the witness stand Monday afternoon in his federal corruption trial.
CHICAGO – Former Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan returned to the witness stand Monday afternoon in his federal corruption trial.
Jurors reported to court at 1 p.m. after a morning of legal arguments about the scope of the government’s questioning.
What We Know
Assistant U.S. Attorney questioned Madigan about hiring practices, specifically focusing on Jeffrey Rush, the son of U.S. Representative Bobby Rush.
Prosecutors revealed that Jeffrey Rush was dismissed from his role as a supervisor at the Illinois Department of Corrections after allegations surfaced that he had a sexual relationship with an inmate.
Jurors were shown a transcript of a phone call between Madigan and his co-defendant Michael McClain.
In the call, Madigan said Congressman Bobby Rush had asked him to assist Jeffrey Rush in finding employment.
Following the call, a résumé was sent to Madigan, and Jeffrey Rush was hired by Friends of Michael J. Madigan, a fundraising group tied to the former speaker.
Madigan’s defense attorneys argue that his actions were typical of political negotiations and do not constitute corruption. They maintain that Madigan never misused his public office for personal benefit.
Together, McClain and Madigan are facing 23 felony counts, including racketeering and bribery.
McClain is not expected to take the stand in his own defense.
What’s Next
Madigan’s cross-examination will continue as the trial progresses.
Prosecutors are expected to delve further into his alleged involvement in hiring and his broader use of political influence.
The Source: Information in this article was obtained through court proceedings and testimony from Mike Madigan’s trial.
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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