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State Week: The hammer falls with Madigan indictment

State Week logo (capitol dome)
Brian Mackey
/
NPR Illinois | 91.9 UIS

The bombshell news dropped Wednesday that former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan was indicted on federal racketeering and bribery charges. While reaction poured in, Madigan denied wrongdoing. Now that he faces charges, another chapter is being written in the story of the longest serving legislative leader.

Host Sean Crawford is joined by Statehouse Editor Hannah Meisel, Professor Emeritus Charlie Wheeler and Chicago Tribune Investigative Reporter Ray Long, who is the author of the new book "The House That Madigan Built."

Hannah covers state government and politics for Capitol News Illinois. She's been dedicated to the statehouse beat since interning at NPR Illinois in 2014, with subsequent stops at WILL-AM/FM, Law360, Capitol Fax and The Daily Line before returning to NPR Illinois in 2020 and moving to CNI in 2023.
The former director of the Public Affairs Reporting (PAR) graduate program is Professor Charles N. Wheeler III, a veteran newsman who came to the University of Illinois at Springfield following a 24-year career at the Chicago Sun-Times.
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