• An LGBT-focused PAC has made its pick in the races at the top of the statewide ballot.

  • Four suburban Democratic candidates for state Senate are on the air this week with ads, and three of those candidates called for term limits on House Speaker Mike Madigan (D-Chicago) in the television spots. Meanwhile, former top Democrat Lou Lang reported a big haul of campaign cash.
  • article-image

    Illinois Supreme Court Chief Justice Lloyd Karmeier will not have to serve as a witness in a trial involving allegations that Bloomington-based State Farm Insurance Co. secretly funneled $3.5 million to Karmeier when the justice originally ran for the court as a Republican in 2004.

  • State Sen. Sam McCann (C-Plainview), a third-party gubernatorial challenger, Edwardsville Mayor Hal Patton, a Republican State Senate candidate running under the banner of "Downstate United" and Justin Hanson, an independent write-in candidate for Illinois' 3rd Congressional District.


    From the moment State Sen. Sam McCann (C-Plainview) announced he intended to run for governor as a member of the “Conservative Party” — a party of his own creation — McCann’s ballot attempt has garnered more media attention than most third-party candidates could ever hope for.
  • Attorney General Lisa Madigan on Thursday announced her intention to examine the “at least” seven priests with connections to Illinois who were included in a recent Pennsylvania grand jury report that detailed decades of sexual abuse within the Catholic Church. Meanwhile, Gov. Bruce Rauner signed into law a bill inspired by sexual harassment severance deals, but vetoed a measure concerning title insurance.
  • Proposed changes to Illinois’ limits on emissions from coal-fired plants owned by Dynegy are pending in front of the state’s Pollution Control Board, which is expected to make a decision during first week of September, after punting the item from its agenda this week.
  • Illinois would add $116 million to its bottom line every year under a revamped version of the comprehensive gaming bill lawmakers have tossed around for years, though most of that tax money would come from video gaming terminals, according to new estimates from the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability.

    A gaming table. [Ralf Steinberger/Flickr]
  • After busting the contribution caps off of his own race — in which he is unopposed — Friday, House Speaker Mike Madigan (D-Chicago) pulled in his first contributions Wednesday. Meanwhile, Republicans moved money from the party’s House-focused political organization to the state party fund.
  • The head of Illinois’ Department of Human Services defended his agency Tuesday, telling lawmakers that an 80 percent increase in allegations of abuse in community homes was an aberration and not a true reflection of abuse and neglect.

    State Sen. Iris Martinez told Department of Human Services Secretary James Dimas she was "disgusted" by an audit of his department. [Submitted photos]
  • Gov. Bruce Rauner spent Sunday night at the Quincy Veterans Home before heading to campaign events in the area on Monday. The visit was very quiet despite ongoing construction and improvements in the existing complex and a newly acquired property on the site. Meanwhile, a report preparing for the sale of $920 million in state bonds acknowledges Illinois’ $1.2 billion structural deficit, and former Congressman Aaron Schock wants his case moved to Peoria.