Former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan is set to celebrate his 82nd birthday while on trial for orchestrating a criminal enterprise for a decade while serving as Illinois’ most powerful politician.

With the Illinois Supreme Court set to hear oral arguments in March, it will likely be months before justices decide the fate of cashless bail in Illinois. But bail transformation is just one of many provisions contained in the SAFE-T Act.

An agreed motion released Wednesday shows that oral arguments before the Illinois Supreme Court between Attorney General Kwame Raoul and a group of prosecutors challenging the plan to eliminate cash bail will not be held until sometime in March.

Rafael Harvey, 17, was charged with first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, attempted vehicular hijacking and other felonies after a shooting that left one man dead and another injured outside a Citgo gas station Tuesday.

On New Year’s Eve, less than 12 hours before cashless bail was to take effect, Illinois Supreme Court justices put the elimination of cash bail in the state on hold indefinitely.

The Illinois Supreme Court on Saturday posted an online notice that it is staying the Pretrial Fairness Act, the law within a broader criminal justice overhaul called the SAFE-T Act, which contains the cashless-bail change. The stay will remain in place until the justices issue a new order.

The Illinois legislature was busy in 2022, enacting hundreds of new laws, many of which will take effect on Sunday.

Kankakee County Judge Thomas Cunnington issued his ruling after dozens of state’s attorneys sued to prevent Illinois from eliminating cash bail beginning Jan. 1.

When the Pretrial Fairness Act, a section of the Illinois SAFE-T Act, goes into effect Jan. 1, those charged in criminal cases in dozens of counties across Illinois will no longer have to pay any cash in order to be released from jail while they wait for their trial.

Federal investigators allegedly identified Agnieszka Chwiesiuk in photos and videos from inside the Capitol building during the riot. According to the feds, she can be seen alongside her brother, Karol Chwiesiuk, a CPD officer who is facing five misdemeanor charges stemming from his own alleged involvement in the riot.

Robert Crimo Jr., 58, looked somber and tired in his first appearance before a judge since voluntarily surrendering to police Friday. His lawyer told the judge Saturday that the father of three would be able to pay the required bond amount for his release.

Lake County State’s Attorney Eric Rinehart announced Robert Crimo Jr. — the father of Robert Crimo III — was arrested Friday and charged with seven counts of reckless conduct.

Chicago taxpayers will pay $1.2 million to settle three lawsuits claiming Chicago police officers committed a wide range of misconduct, including handcuffing an 8-year-old boy for more than 40 minutes during a raid of his family’s home.

Prosecutors said William Kohles was upset over crime rates in Chicago when he allegedly wrote a threatening message to Mayor Lori Lightfoot in which he claimed he would shoot the mayor. 

Jay Bollyn, 69, was arrested on hate crime charges and ordered held on a $100,000 D-bond during a court hearing Tuesday. He must post $10,000 to be released from custody.

A new report from the University of Chicago Law School’s Federal Criminal Justice Clinic shows that locking up pretrial defendants has become the norm in federal court, rather than the exception, as required by law.