Madigan sentencing date remains
Former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan’s sentencing date remains set for June 13. That is according to a docket entry Tuesday from U.S. District Court Judge John Robert Blakey.
The judge also addressed consideration of letters received by the court with regard to Madigan’s sentencing. Government attorneys indicated they were in favor of the letters being admitted, but Madigan’s team argued against their admission.
The longtime speaker and Democratic Party of Illinois chairman was convicted on ten counts of corruption February 12th.
Pope Leo’s Dolton home
The boyhood home of Pope Leo XIV in Dolton is up for auction, but village officials said they may intervene.
The village’s attorney announced that Dolton plans to either outright buy the home or obtain it by eminent domain. They said they tried to negotiate with the owner, but he wants too much money.
The village plans to work with the Chicago Archdiocese to turn the house into a historic site open to the public.
Purple Heart returned
Illinois Treasurer Michael Frerichs has announced the return of a Purple Heart medal to the grandson of a late World War II Army veteran from Lansing.
Army Cpl. Henry Van Der Noord was one of four brothers who fought for the U.S. during World War II, with all of them making it home. He earned the Purple Heart for wounds he suffered during the fight to liberate the Philippines in May 1945.
Frerichs returned the medal as part of Operation Purple Heart, an initiative to return the military honor to its rightful owners.
