Members of the Illinois Underground Railroad Task Force – including state legislators like Illinois Assistant Majority Leader Sen. Dave Koehler (D-Peoria, back) and renowned Underground Railroad historian Larry McClellan (center) – present the state task force’s recommendations to bring the more piecemeal history of Illinois’s part in the Freedom Fighter movement together during a Nov. 12, 2024 press conference in Springfield. [Livestream]  

What was once documented primarily in local projects across the state will now come together as one cohesive, preserved historical record of the Underground Railroad in Illinois, state legislators and historians said during a Tuesday press conference.

Following a bruising election for Democrats, the Illinois General Assembly is now shifting gears for the veto session beginning this week as the state’s top Democrats anticipate exploring options to bolster state law to counter President-elect Donald Trump’s initiatives.

House Speaker Chris Welch (D-Hillside), left, and Republican Leader Tony McCombie (R-Savanna), right, at Inauguration Day in 2023. [Ben Szalinski/The Daily Line]

A hard-fought election appears it will leave the Illinois House exactly where it has stood for the past two years with Democrats maintaining their record 78-member supermajority and Republicans preserving their 40 seats.  

Gov. JB Pritzker holds a news conference in Chicago on Thursday. [Ben Szalinski/The Daily Line] 

Illinois lawmakers return to Springfield on Tuesday and could begin lining up legislative responses to proposals made by incoming President-elect Donald Trump’s administration.  

Gov. JB Pritzker speaks at a Think Big America event during the Democratic National Convention in August. [Ben Szalinski/The Daily Line]   

Democrats’ top priority of electing Vice President Kamala Harris to help preserve reproductive rights nationally was rejected by voters. But Tuesday was a strong night for Gov. JB Pritzker’s Think Big America group as voters approved new abortion laws around the country.  

Former Gov. Pat Quinn holds a news conference in Springfield. [Ben Szalinski/The Daily Line]  

Illinois voters approved three advisory referendum questions on Tuesday night by a wide margin, including one that a former governor hopes will lead to changing the state constitution.  

Illinois Republican Party Chair Kathy Salvi at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee in July. [Ben Szalinski/The Daily Line]   

Three Republican state representatives hold a narrow lead in their races as most ballots have been counted from Tuesday’s election and signal positive news for Illinois Republicans.  

U.S. Rep. Eric Sorensen (D-Moline) speaks at a campaign event Tuesday night. [Eric Sorensen/Facebook] 

The race in the only congressional district in Illinois viewed as a swing district wasn’t close, with incumbent U.S. Rep. Eric Sorensen, a Democrat from Moline, pulling of a key victory in the battle to control Congress.  

Candidates for the Illinois House this fall. 

No seats in the General Assembly had changed hands as of 11 p.m. Tuesday night as many races remained too close to call while others had limited results available.  

U.S. Rep. Eric Sorensen, a Democrat from Moline.   

U.S. Rep. Eric Sorensen, a Democrat from Moline, led late Tuesday in his race to win a second term in Congress as Democrats seek to gain control of Congress beginning in January.