Dave McKinney | WBEZ

Michael Madigan, the country’s longest-serving state House leader, served as speaker of the Illinois House from 1983 until 2021, with the exception of two years. Along the way, he developed a reputation as an all-powerful political wizard who wielded vast influence over laws affecting nearly every aspect of life in the state.

Michael Madigan’s sentencing hearing will cap the most aggressive, expansive corruption investigation in Chicago since the days of Rod Blagojevich. But many wonder: Would President Donald Trump grant clemency?

“A gentleman.” “A rule follower.” “Mr. Integrity.” As the feds seek a prison sentence for the former Illinois House speaker, supporters paint Madigan as a good man who “made mistakes.”

The anonymous “Paddle 1231” won most of the priciest artifacts, including a lock of Lincoln’s hair and a pair of blood-stained gloves.

The former Chicago mayor told “The View” he was “in training” to run, amping up the potential he and Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker could be rivals.

The Illinois governor has not announced whether he will seek a third term in Springfield next year, but he also has not said he will not run for president in 2028.

En exclusiva para WBEZ, el senador demócrata de Illinois de 80 años de edad, dijo que la edad fue un factor para no buscar un sexto mandato en el Congreso.

The 80-year-old Democrat told WBEZ in an Illinois exclusive that age was a factor in his not seeking a sixth term in the U.S. Senate.

Expect announcements from Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton, Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi and Rep. Lauren Underwood within hours and days of Sen. Dick Durbin’s announcement that he will not seek reelection in the Senate.

Records show Jackson, a son of the Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr., recently became an investor in Vendor Assistance Program LLC.