Illinois Politics

Early voting in the 2026 midterms starts in Chicago in two weeks. Among the choices on your ballet, selecting a replacement for longtime Illinois Senator Dick Durbin. 

Should Gov. Pritzker opt in to a federal program that offers scholarship money for low income students to attend private school? Plus, how one quiet suburb is readying for its Groundhog Day closeup.

Groundhog Day is Monday and the quiet northwestern suburb of Woodstock is getting ready for its annual celebration.

Venezuela, Russia, Ukraine, China foreign policy is at the center of President Trump's agenda these days. But how do average Americans feel about all of these issues? The Chicago Council on Global Affairs has a revealing new survey showing the public's attitudes and how Republican and Democratic voters split.

Gov. Pritzker has a big decision on his hands. Should he allow low income families in Illinois to access a federal school tuition tax credit program that could help them afford private school for their kids. 

Gov. J.B. Pritzker faces a major decision on whether Illinois will opt into a new federal tuition scholarship program for students attending private schools.

Two weeks to the day, the Chicago Board of Elections approved a non-binding referendum, which would have allowed March primary voters to question the fate of the $9 billion PSI Quantum computing campus.

Tonight: J.B. Pritzker has launched his reelection campaign - we meet one of the republicans hoping to unseat him. CPS is losing students at an alarming rate - and could look vastly different in ten years. Will more schools have to shutter? And how you can personally have a political impact -- the non profit organization coaching voters on how to call and demand things from their elected representatives. 

A new study out concludes Chicago Public Schools is losing a staggering 10,000 students every year. And it's lost 100,000 in the last 20 years. How low can the population go, and can the city turn this decline around? Joining us now is Hal Woods of the group Kids First Illinois - who put out the report.

So do you feel like things are overwhelming these days and you want to make a difference, but you're not sure how?  Five-calls is making waves on social media in the wake of the deadly shooting of Alexi Pretti in Minneapolis.  It's an app that helps constituents contact members of Congress.  As influencers, activists, and everyday people wade into public policy conversations, many are turning to tools like 5 calls to streamline civic engagement.  It works by aggregating contact information giving users a direct line to local and federal officials to urge action on issues. Joining us now is Nick O'Neill, the founder of Five Calls.

Believe it or not - we are only weeks away from early voting here in the 2026 primary elections. There are several contested races to think about - one of them is the race for Governor. J.B. Pritzker is uncontested on the democratic side to seek a third term leading Illinois. But several candidates are vying to be the nominee on the republican side - and tonight we meet one, Ted Dabrowski - a North Shore businessman and former policy analyst for the publication Wirepoints.

In Illinois, there's no state rules protecting workers from extreme temperatures. So, workers and unions have launched a campaign pushing for a bill that would change that.

Illinois Sen. Tammy Duckworth sparred with Secretary of State Marco Rubio during a Senate hearing Wednesday.

Promising to fight back against the Trump administration, a Chicago alderman has officially announced his run for Congress.

Chicago Alderman Byron Sigcho-Lopez announced Wednesday he is running for Illinois’ 4th Congressional District seat as an independent following Rep. Jesus “Chuy” Garcia’s retirement.