Politics
Meet Sanford Hess, Democratic candidate for Champaign County Executive
Democrats in Champaign County will decide who will be the next County Executive in the primary election. Meet Sanford Hess.
Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Awisi Bustos on her government experience, ‘militarization’ of ICE and AI policy
Illinois Public Media’s The 21st Show is interviewing the candidates and asking them about their views. This week, Brian Mackey sat down with Awisi Quartey Bustos, a Democrat with experience in nonprofits, the private sector and as a state of Illinois employee.
Election ’26: 4 Democrats seeking to replace Mendoza as Illinois comptroller
Democrats Margaret Croke, Karina Villa, Stephanie Kifowit and Holly Kim are competing in the primary to succeed outgoing Comptroller Susana Mendoza.
Pritzker gives $5 million to boost Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton’s Senate bid
The haul is much needed for Stratton to get her message out in TV ads, especially since her campaign took in about $1.1 million and spent $912,000 between October and December.
Hundreds of University of Illinois and Urbana High School students protest ICE, federal immigration operations
Students and community members across Champaign-Urbana stood in solidarity to protest the Trump administration’s aggressive immigration enforcement campaign.
GOP gubernatorial candidate Ted Dabrowski discusses bringing ‘fiscal reality’ and ‘midwestern values’ to Illinois
Ted Dabrowski is a conservative researcher with a background in international banking. He told IPM’s The 21st Show his background and focus on cutting taxes and spending will earn him trust from voters across the state.
Democratic U.S. Senate Candidate Bryan Maxwell talks representing downstate Illinois, advocating socialist policies on campaign trail
Bryan Maxwell is an environmental research scientist at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign- making him one of the few candidates in the race not to be based in Chicago.
Lt. Gov. Stratton goes on attack in Sun-Times, WBEZ, UChicago debate against U.S. Reps. Kelly, Krishnamoorthi
The Sun-Times, WBEZ and the University of Chicago’s Institute of Politics and International House hosted the first live-broadcast debate of the biggest race on the March 17 ballot.
Sun-Times, WBEZ and UChicago to host first live-broadcast debate for Democratic Senate candidates
U.S. Reps. Raja Krishnamoorthi and Robin Kelly and Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton square off Monday night ahead of their marquee matchup in the March 17 primary election.
Republican Senate candidate Pamela Denise Long talks Greenland, ICE and abortion
Illinois Public Media’s The 21st Show is interviewing the candidates and asking them about their views. This week, Brian Mackey sat down with Republican Pamela Denise Long to discuss her campaign.
Legitimate investigation of Minneapolis ICE shooting unlikely, according to Sen. Dick Durbin
The senior senator from Illinois and Democratic whip said the federal government’s efforts to block state and local law enforcement from fully investigating the Minneapolis shooting is “proof positive this is not a credible investigation.”
Illinois lawmakers’ 2026 theme: affordability
Democrats are seeking to capitalize on Trump-driven chaos during election year session