Sen. Tammy Duckworth cruises to a second term over Republican challenger Kathy Salvi

Sen. Tammy Duckworth cruises to a second term over Republican challenger Kathy Salvi

Democratic U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth on Tuesday coasted to a second term, fending off a challenge from Republican challenger Kathy Salvi to extend her historic Senate career another six years. A spokesperson for Salvi’s campaign said the challenger had called to concede less than an hour after the polls closed. Duckworth declared victory shortly before…

Security expert questions election official’s claim of cyber-attack

Security expert questions election official’s claim of cyber-attack

URBANA – The Champaign County Clerk’s offices reported Tuesday that they seemed to be the victim of a cyberattack on Election Day. The attack, according to a media advisory, resulted in “connectivity issues and computer server performance.” The advisory stated: “These cyber-attacks are a strategic and coordinated effort to undermine and destabilize our democratic process….

Danville election officials adapt to new laws, report a smooth day of voting

Danville election officials adapt to new laws, report a smooth day of voting

DANVILLE – Election officials in Danville said they had to adapt to new voting laws during this year’s midterms on Tuesday. In June, Illinois Senate Bill 825 allowed for several changes to state voting laws. One allows voters to get absentee ballots every year if they sign up just one time. Vermillion County Supervisor of…

University of Illinois students report spending hours attempting to vote

University of Illinois students report spending hours attempting to vote

CHAMPAIGN – There were long lines for voting across the University of Illinois campus as polls came to a close for the midterm elections Tuesday.  Some voters have said they waited for one or two hours to vote at the university’s Activities and Recreation Center, Sibel Center for Design and Illini Union. “We went to…

Champaign-Urbana voters wait an hour or more to cast their ballots
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Champaign-Urbana voters wait an hour or more to cast their ballots

CHAMPAIGN – Polling places in Champaign County saw varied turnout early on Election Day.  Locations including Church of the Living God and the Douglass Center Annex in north Champaign were off to a slow start around 9:30 a.m., with only a few voters at each site.  However, around an hour later, the Good Shepherd Lutheran…

First-time voters cast their ballots at the University of Illinois
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First-time voters cast their ballots at the University of Illinois

URBANA – Hundreds of University of Illinois students and other local residents gathered at polling places across campus Tuesday to vote in this year’s midterm election. The university’s Illini Union was filled with lines of voters, with some students bringing their friends to vote for their first time.  “I feel kind of crazy, like why am…

State investigators monitoring elections as early voting sets records

State investigators monitoring elections as early voting sets records

URBANA – In Illinois, Election Day is a state holiday to give voters every opportunity to cast a ballot. And state officials say you should be able to do it safely. Attorney General Kwame Raoul says more than 170 teams of investigators and assistant attorneys general will monitor elections throughout Illinois. If you witness any illegal…

Candidates make final push to get out the vote

Candidates make final push to get out the vote

SPRINGFIELD – Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker was crisscrossing the state Monday while his Republican challenger, state Sen. Darren Bailey, focused on the Chicago suburbs as they both made their final pitches to voters ahead of Tuesday’s general election. Pritzker, along with other Democrats at the top of the ticket, held get-out-the-vote rallies at union halls…

IL13th Congressional District candidates both expect victory

IL13th Congressional District candidates both expect victory

URBANA- Both candidates in Illinois’ redrawn 13th congressional district say their messages are connecting with voters.  Republican Regan Deering and Democratic candidate Nikki Budzinski both expect victory in Tuesday’s election. Deering says her team spent the last week visiting all the counties in the district. The former educator says cutting crime will be one of her…

Valuable Lincoln artifacts are taken from a Springfield museum as feuding with a not-for-profit intensifies

Valuable Lincoln artifacts are taken from a Springfield museum as feuding with a not-for-profit intensifies

SPRINGFIELD — A valuable cache of 1,500-plus Lincoln artifacts that were part of a multimillion-dollar acquisition 15 years ago was trucked away this week from the Springfield Lincoln museum that had housed them — with no plans of bringing them back. It’s the latest by-product of an acrimonious relationship between the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library…

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker moves to make abortion more accessible to people in prisons
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Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker moves to make abortion more accessible to people in prisons

CHICAGO — Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker pledged to remove a barrier to abortion for people in prison after a WBEZ investigation found incarcerated people had to pay for the procedure and the wages of the correctional officer required to accompany them to appointments outside the prison. “Moving forward, abortion procedures and their associated expenses will…

Michael Madigan
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Madigan, McClain enter not guilty pleas

SPRINGFIELD – Former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan and his longtime political ally Michael McClain entered not guilty pleas Tuesday to bribery and corruption charges involving utility giant Commonwealth Edison and telecommunications company AT&T Illinois. Both were charged previously in the ComEd scandal, but federal prosecutors last month added new charges involving AT&T after that…

Right-wing ‘zombie’ papers attack Illinois Democrats ahead of elections
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Right-wing ‘zombie’ papers attack Illinois Democrats ahead of elections

SPRINGFIELD — Since late summer, many Illinois residents have been receiving newspapers that they haven’t paid for nor, in many cases, even heard of. Each paper bears a clear-cut tagline: Real data, real news. And each publication that shows up in driveways and mailboxes carries a partisan punch that’s blatant, but not formally disclosed. “They…

Dispatcher’s ‘intuition’ may have saved Paul Pelosi, San Francisco’s police chief says
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Dispatcher’s ‘intuition’ may have saved Paul Pelosi, San Francisco’s police chief says

Updated October 29, 2022 at 6:38 AM ET SAN FRANCISCO – The attack on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband, Paul Pelosi, was “intentional” and the police dispatcher’s “intuition” and “quick thinking” resulted in a faster police response, San Francisco Police Chief William Scott said. Paul Pelosi was “violently attacked” by an intruder who broke into…