Madeline Buckley

Madeline Buckley is a criminal justice reporter for the Chicago Tribune covering courts and the legal system. She covers courthouses across Cook County but is usually found at "26th and Cal."

People install a memorial for Silverio Villegas González on Sept. 15, 2025, in Franklin Park. Villegas González was shot and killed by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer during a traffic stop. (Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune)

Cook County state’s attorney hits back on ‘heavy-handed’ petition for Operation Midway Blitz outside prosecutor

March 24, 2026 at 12:12 p.m.

The Cook County state's attorney's office on Tuesday hit back at an effort to appoint an outside prosecutor to investigate potential wrongdoing by federal agents during Operation Midway Blitz, filing...

Loyola University Chicago student Sheridan Gorman in an undated photo. (Family photo)

Tragedy of Loyola student’s alleged killing by migrant marked by his clouded history, political reaction

March 23, 2026 at 6:12 p.m.

Jose Medina, 25, is facing charges in the fatal shooting of 18-year-old Loyola University Chicago student Sheridan Gorman.

Hickory Hills woman charged with sending pornographic images of herself to child

March 19, 2026 at 2:16 p.m.

A Hickory Hills woman is facing criminal charges for allegedly sending a pornographic photo and video to a child, according to the Cook County sheriff's office.

Election workers assemble a voting booth on Election Day at the Boathouse located in Park 571, March 17, 2026. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune)

High early voting in Chicago helps bolster slower day at polls

March 17, 2026 at 9:08 p.m.

A historically high number of early ballots cast in Chicago helped offset the relatively low number of votes recorded at the polls on an unseasonable cold and windy Tuesday.

The George N. Leighton Criminal Court Building, Feb. 1, 2025. (Audrey Richardson/Chicago Tribune)

Transparency lacking in lucrative special prosecutor arrangements, attorneys say

March 16, 2026 at 5:00 a.m.

The role of Cook County special prosecutor comes with immense power and potentially a lot of money. But these appointments, at times, have been criticized by attorneys representing the defendants.

A coalition of organizations, elected officials and individuals hold a press conference at Federal Plaza in Chicago, March 12, 2026, to call for the appointment of a special prosecutor to investigate possible crimes committed by federal agents during Operation Midway Blitz. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune)

Coalition wants special prosecutor named to review agents’ conduct during Operation Midway Blitz

March 12, 2026 at 3:48 p.m.

A group of community members, organizations and politicians are petitioning for a special prosecutor to investigate and potentially prosecute wrongdoing by federal agents during the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown in...

Sarah Slackert, right, and Nikki Kidd, second from left, hug other women in their group outside the Maywood Courthouse after their charges were dismissed on March 4, 2026, following their arrest during a protest last year outside the Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Broadview. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)

Cook County prosecutors dismiss 21 cases against ICE protesters, including suburban moms arrested in sit-in

March 4, 2026 at 2:22 p.m.

Cook County prosecutors dismissed 21 cases that were filed against protesters at the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement processing center in Broadview.

Susan Battaglia, center, mother of Brittany Battaglia, leaves court following a lunch break in the trial of Genesis Silva, who is charged with concealing his girlfriend’s nearly-decapitated body in a duffel bag. Brittany Battaglia, 33, had been missing for days when her body was found with stab wounds in Silva’s Logan Square apartment in a duffel bag along with a machete and bags of cleaning equipment in June 2023. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune)

Trial begins for man accused of killing woman, putting her in duffel bag in Logan Square

March 3, 2026 at 2:45 p.m.

A trial begins for a Logan Square man accused of killing his girlfriend and stuffing her body into a duffel bag.

Night falls on Loretto Hospital in the 5500 block of West Flournoy Street on Jan. 12, 2022, in the Austin neighborhood of Chicago. A delivery driver was found lying on the ground outside Loretto on Feb. 23, 2026, after a doctor had ordered Uber Eats to the hospital, according to a police report obtained by the Tribune. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)

‘Just trying to provide for his family’: Judge orders woman detained in slaying of Uber Eats driver

February 25, 2026 at 3:40 p.m.

The judge ordered the 33-year-old be held in the slaying of an Uber Eats driver killed outside Loretto Hospital on Chicago’s West Side.

U.S. Border Patrol agents detain a driver on Cicero Avenue while conducting an immigration operation in Chicago's Little Village neighborhood on Dec. 16, 2025. (Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune)

Cook County top prosecutor circulates policy outlining process for charging federal immigration agents

February 19, 2026 at 4:55 p.m.

The Cook County state's attorney's office on Thursday released a protocol outlining the steps for filing charges against federal immigration agents, marking the first official policy from the office on...

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