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Longest-serving legislative leader in US history given 7 1/2 years in federal corruption case
Crime and Courts
AP

Longest-serving legislative leader in US history given 7 1/2 years in federal corruption case

  • By JOHN O'CONNOR - Associated Press
  • Updated

The longest-serving legislative leader in U.S. history has been sentenced to 7 1/2 years in prison on federal corruption charges. Former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan was sentenced Friday by U.S. District Judge John Robert Blakey in Chicago. Madigan was also fined $2.5 million, the statutory maximum. The 83-year-old Madigan was convicted in February of 10 of 23 counts, including bribery, conspiracy and wire fraud charges. Prosecutors charged that Madigan routinely traded legislation favorable to utility giant ComEd for contracts and no-work jobs for his associates and allies. The government sought a 12 1/2-year sentence for Madigan and a $1.5 million fine. Madigan’s lawyers asked for five years� probation, community service and a “reasonable� fine.

Lawsuit challenging Kentucky's near-total ban on abortions is withdrawn
Kentucky
AP

Lawsuit challenging Kentucky's near-total ban on abortions is withdrawn

  • By The Associated Press
  • Updated

Attorneys for a woman who had challenged Kentucky's near-total ban on abortion have dropped the lawsuit. The attorneys filed a motion Friday seeking to voluntarily dismiss the lawsuit but did not give a reason why. The lawsuit had been filed last year in state court in Louisville on behalf of a woman who was about seven weeks pregnant at the time. The lawsuit challenged Kentucky’s near-total trigger law ban and a separate six-week ban. The trigger law took effect when the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade in 2022.