SPRINGFIELD – In Illinois, the role of state treasurer is that of chief investment officer. Treasurer Michael Frerichs has held that position for two full terms, winning by less than 10,000 votes in 2014 before cruising to an 18 percentage-point victory in 2018. He boasts that Illinois has topped $1.2 billion in interest gains on
SPRINGFIELD – Vice President Kamala Harris came to Chicago Friday to rally voters who support abortion rights and urge them to turn out in the upcoming midterm elections. Speaking at a roundtable discussion on reproductive rights at the University of Illinois Chicago, Harris said the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade has
CHAMPAIGN — GOP county clerk candidate Terrence Stuber told The News-Gazette in August, “I don’t know,” when asked if Donald Trump won the 2020 presidential election. After that remark, Aaron Ammons, a Democrat and the incumbent clerk, accused Stuber of being “unqualified, ill-informed, and unprepared to serve.” More recently, Stuber, a member of the Tolono
CHICAGO – It’s not quite like former Chicago Mayor Jane Byrne moving into Cabrini-Green — but Republican gubernatorial nominee Darren Bailey is now living in the former John Hancock Center, one of Chicago’s most iconic high-rises, to “immerse” himself “in the culture” of a city he’s repeatedly dubbed a “hellhole.” Bailey, a downstate farmer and
Election season is around the corner, and so are renewed conversations around voter fraud and election integrity. States like Wisconsin and Georgia have recently removed hundreds of thousands of names off their voter lists, in what critics are calling “voter purges.” And in preparation for the 2020 election, the Ohio secretary of state removed nearly
DANVILLE — Driving along Illinois Route 1, south of Danville, I approach a dividing line between the 2nd and 15th congressional districts. On one side, there are cornfields. That’s the 15th. On the other, residential homes. That’s the 2nd. In the car with me is Germaine Light. She’s the Vice-Chair of the Vermilion County Democratic
MONTICELLO — On a hot June day in 2017, the Piatt County Nursing Home in Monticello lost power. “They almost had to evacuate because (it was) 80 degrees, they almost had to evacuate Alzheimer’s residents,” Congressman Rodney Davis (R-Taylorville) said outside the county-owned nursing home on Wednesday. Scott Porter realized then as the nursing home’s
CHAMPAIGN — Illinois’ 13th district congressional race is heating up as November approaches. The newly redrawn district stretches from the Champaign-Urbana area to the Metro East suburbs near St. Louis — including much of Decatur and Springfield. This week, the Illinois Farm Bureau’s political action committee endorsed 13th district Republican candidate Regan Deering. The news
CHICAGO — Illinois Republicans last controlled the state Supreme Court the same year the former John Hancock building opened along North Michigan Avenue, and the Chicago Cubs infamously blew the National League pennant. History buffs will recognize that year as 1969. In other words, it’s been a long time. But this November, that 53-year string
SPRINGFIELD – Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker said Tuesday that abortion rights will be a central issue in the 2022 election, not just in his bid for reelection but in races up and down the ballot. That includes races for Congress and the Illinois Supreme Court as well as the governor’s race and state legislative contests.
SPRINGFIELD – There was a lot to unpack at Wednesday’s candidate forum which saw Gov. JB Pritzker and his Republican challenger state Sen. Darren Bailey appear on the same stage, albeit at different times, for the first time this campaign season. For starters, I wrote an article earlier this week fact-checking the governor’s claim that
LEXINGTON — An array of issues, ranging from biofuels and renewable energy to livestock protection and trade agreements, faced Democratic incumbent U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth and Republican challenger Kathy Salvi during the Illinois Agricultural Legislative Roundtable candidates forum Wednesday in rural Lexington. The recently signed Inflation Reduction Act and the Biden Administration’s student loan forgiveness plan
LEXINGTON – The candidates for Illinois governor faced questioning about their agriculture-related policies Wednesday in an outbuilding on a McLean County farm. Gov. JB Pritzker’s message was one of optimism, billing himself as the state’s “chief marketer.” His challenger, state Sen. Darren Bailey, a Republican from Xenia, told the room full of farmers that Illinois
DECATUR — Illinois now requires every elementary and high school teach a unit on Black History, ranging from African civilizations to U.S. slavery to the Civil Rights movement. This week, Illinois Family Action (IFA), a conservative, Christian group, based in suburban Chicago, held a meeting with about 35 attendees, discussing those changes and attacking the
SPRINGFIELD — Republican gubernatorial candidate Darren Bailey on Tuesday said he’d prioritize eliminating “critical race theory” and “egregious” sex education standards from Illinois schools if elected to replace Gov. JB Pritzker in November, courting a relatively new coalition of voters radicalized during the COVID-19 pandemic. Bailey made those comments to a small rally outside the