Madigan Pleads 'Not Guilty' / Konkol / More CTA Security / Tool

"Everything that is tied to Madigan is called into question."

That's right, Chicago Democrat state Rep. Anne Williams said it.

And that truth sure doesn't help Gov. J.B. Pritzker's re-election campaign.

KONKOL COLUMN: Everything Tied To Madigan Deserves Scrutiny, Including Pritzker

Basic. High: 29 Low: 28.

• Former House Speaker Michael Madigan said he is not a crook. The 79-year-old Southwest Side political heavyweight pleaded not guilty in federal court to charges that allege he used his power to run his political machine as a criminal enterprise. (Patch)
• Can you believe it? Loyola Medical Center officials say the hospital doesn't have a single coronavirus patient for the first time since the pandemic started. (NBC)
• In response to spiking crime and declining ridership on the CTA, city leaders are doubling the number of security guards and increasing police presence on busses and trains. (Patch)
• A teenager and his older brother were charged with the murder of a WGN security guard. Salena Claybourne was shot and killed when Dameonte Watson, 17, and Gregory Watson, 22, attempted to carjack her at a South Side gas station. (WGN)
• Today is the day that felonious "Empire" actor Jussie Smollett is set to get sentenced after being convicted of faking a hate crime against himself. It all boils down to two questions: Will Smollett admit he lied to police, and will he be sent to prison? (AP)

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— Mark Konkol

About me: Mark Konkol, recipient of the 2011 Pulitzer Prize for local reporting, wrote and produced the Peabody Award-winning series "Time: The Kalief Browder Story." He was a producer, writer and narrator for the "Chicagoland" docuseries on CNN and a consulting producer on the Showtime documentary "16 Shots."