Champaign, IL (CAPITOL CITY NOW) – The author of a book about former House Speaker Mike Madigan, who was indicted after The House That Madigan Built was finished, says there won’t be a new chapter or two – there will be a new book taking in Madigan’s indictment, trial, conviction, and more.
“Right now, the cases are still rolling along,” said retired Chicago Tribune reporter Ray Long. “There still could be things that are overturned. We just saw that Mike McClain and Anne Pramaggiore, two of the people in the Com Ed Four, had their cases reversed. They could be going to trial again. The prosecution may decide not to do anything. Madigan, meanwhile, has just turned 84. He is in a (federal) prison in West Virginia, and he has a case on appeal, too.”
Long Saturday received the Illinoisan of the Year award from the Illinois News Broadcasters Association.
Long, a two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist, said good reporting is about making one more phone call and knocking on one more door in pursuit of the truth.
With media layoffs across the nation because of financial reasons or consolidation, Long said there is reason to be optimistic; that people will want the truth and people will want to report the truth, even though the platform may not be the old-school newspaper, radio, or tee vee.
