I don't know whether guys are ice fishing in Madison or not...but I will say that from my experience, guys in SE Wisconsin are onto the ice in a much thinner manner than up north. 2 inches is go time in SE Wisconsin for quite a few. 

Jcc- not a false report. 20 guys out there today. Not on the main lakes but the back channels and sloughs/ marshes.

Guys are ice fishing in Madison, ~ 2 inches of ice. 

Fished the past 2 days in Oneida county. 3-5” of ice on 3 different lakes. While others are still open water.

Just keeps making ice each night. We’ve had Lows in Vilas around 11 to 15° Lately.  Daytime highs have usually been above freezing, but very little impact on the ice. Sun angle so low right now. Plus it only warms up for a few hours. It’s go time and no looking back! The beautiful thing is there’s no snow on the ice. I hope this continues for a long time. Not only for mobility. But of course ice thickness. This must be what hunters feel like just before the season. Very excited!

The forecast just keeps getting worse. I'm now projecting a January 10 first ice date for SE Wisconsin. Good thing gas is cheap, I'll be making a lot of trips north!

Come on guys, you are over thinking things... Be nice/think ice! Not hot air!

Once you have ice,1.3256 inches or more, and for all those hair splitters 2 - 3 inches respectively, let the cold winds blow... 

The colder it is the better for making ice...

Here at IL state line, Since reliable record-keeping began in the late 1800s, November 2020 ranks fourth warmest ever. Average temperatures remained in the mid-40s for the month as a whole. Average temperatures 2001-47.6, 1931-46.3, 2016-45.8, 2020-45.6, 1913-44.6.  So we had Novembers with warm averages long before Algore got rich. 

there was ice on my first ice spot this morning. Long as there is not too much wind today it should remained skimmed over today. If lows get to 20 or lower tonight there'll probably be an inch or so on there.  This is a spot where it's 3 feet deep at the max and people risk it every year because it's so shallow.  I'm 330 pounds and I've walked on 2 inches out there.  Not recommended unless you don't mind hearing the ice crack under you.  Gotta move extremely slow and not stay next to an open hole!  Again, at 3 feet at its maximum depth I'm not too worried if I ever do fall in there, but hopefully it never happens.

correct.  wind on iced over lakes is good.  wind on open water is bad.  down here in sw wisconsin, wind is bad.  need some calm cool single digit nights bad.  looks like a ways off.  bummer