(The Center Square) – One year after former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan began serving a 7.5 year sentence at a federal prison camp in Morgantown, West Virginia, the Bureau of Prisons said Madigan’s scheduled release date is Oct. 5, 2031.
Madigan, 84, was convicted in February 2025 on 10 counts of public corruption. The former Democratic Party of Illinois chairman asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review the case, after the Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled in April 2026 to affirm his conviction.
Madigan served in the Illinois House from 1971 to 2021 and was speaker for all but two years from 1983 to 2021. He chaired the Democratic Party of Illinois from 1998 to 2021.
Obama Center workers organize with AFSCME
Obama Foundation and Obama Presidential Center and Museum workers say they are organizing with AFSCME Local 31.
A statement on the union’s website said 68 workers made the announcement in an open letter to their co-workers. AFSCME Local 31 said the new union will represent more than 250 people who work in Obama Foundation operations in Chicago, Washington, D.C. and throughout the country.
The workers said in the letter that they spend their days fulfilling the vision and values of the Obama Foundation, but they also cited heavy workloads, inadequate benefits, insufficient support from management and high employee turnover.
AFSCME Local 31 said employees are signing union authorization cards for the purpose of seeking voluntary recognition from foundation management.
IDNR announces repeat conservation officer of the year
The Illinois Department of Natural Resources has named Conservation Police Officer Austin Priest its Officer of the Year for the second year in a row.
IDNR said Priest’s exceptional enforcement work included 49 field reports, 100 citations and multiple felony drug, driving under the influence, operating under the influence and warrant arrests.
The agency said Priest twice responded to life-saving incidents while off duty.
Fed reports increase in U.S. commercial paper outstanding
The Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis says U.S. commercial paper outstanding grew to $1.49 trillion in the week ending October 7. Commercial paper comprises short-term, promissory notes issued mostly by corporations
