NATION IN BRIEF : ILLINOIS : Ex-Judge Charged With Taking Bribes

A former judge was charged in Chicago with accepting bribes to fix cases, including at least one in which defendants were charged with murder. Thomas Maloney, 66, who retired last year after 13 years as a Cook County judge, was charged with conspiracy, extortion and obstruction of justice in an indictment announced by the Justice Department. Maloney had been implicated in testimony during previous trials of other judges caught in an investigation of judicial corruption in Chicago. More than a dozen judges have been charged in the probe, which involved primarily cases of battery, forgery, deceptive practices and unlawful use of credit cards. Also named in the indictment were two lawyers who allegedly arranged bribes, one of whom has already pleaded guilty and is cooperating with the government.