Illinois in Focus

(The Center Square) – Illinois saw 1.16 million early ballots cast as of Wednesday, roughly on par with the previous midterm election’s early vote turnout. One political science professor says early voting may not be an important indicator for the state’s voters this year. Ballots cast before election day come from two sources, mail-in voting and early in-person voting. As of Wednesday, the total...

(The Center Square) – With tight races for the Illinois General Assembly taking place across the state, some downstate races receive less attention than some of the races in the Chicagoland area – even as many downstate races may be just as close this year. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

(The Center Square) – Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker and GOP gubernatorial candidate Darren Bailey sat beside each other Tuesday night for a wide-ranging forum on policy proposals, including some that would impact taxpayers. The candidate forum, which aired on Chicagoland PBS station WTTW, was advertised to differ from typical televised debates, but both Pritzker and Bailey often spoke over one anoth...

(The Center Square) – Members of the Illinois Freedom Caucus are sounding the alarm over potential election insecurity issues caused by a federally indicted Central Illinois county clerk. In Champaign County, Illinois, an area with about 210,000 residents and numerous different races listed on ballots around the jurisdiction, County Clerk Aaron Ammons is facing calls from local and statewide Repub...

With early voting in Illinois underway in most jurisdictions, Lt. Gov. Julianna Stratton – the Democrat hopeful to replace Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., in Congress – sat down with The Center Square to discuss politics, policies and goals for the seat if she wins the race. Stratton, a former state representative, has served as Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s second in command since taking office in 2019. Her opp...

(The Center Square) – Early voting begins in Illinois on Thursday morning, but the state’s 40-day early voting period is accompanied by additional taxpayer costs. The Center Square asked Rock Island County Clerk Karen Kinney if early voting resulted in additional staffing costs and taxpayer impact. “Oh yes, it does, because we have to bring in election judges. There are additional employees throug...

(The Center Square) – New legislation has been filed to repeal an Illinois tax on sports wagering and fantasy contests. State Rep. Travis Weaver, R-Peoria, filed House Bill 5814 on Monday to repeal the tax that Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed into law last June. Weaver said the tax may be challenged in court. “Anytime a tax is tried for the first time ever, you’ve got to wonder why the other 49 states a...

(The Center Square) – A day after launching a new political action committee to support Democratic Party candidates around the country, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker joined Texas Democrats at an event in Dallas on Wednesday. Pritzker spoke just hours before Republicans opened a two-night convention in Dallas and said the GOP is clinically deranged and out of touch. “And of course, we have Donald Tru...

(The Center Square) – A new tax set to be imposed will soon make hotel rooms in Springfield the second-most taxed in the state, behind the city of Chicago. Debate over the new tax saw economic development pit against a burden the tax could place on the local hotel industry. A new 3% hotel tax passed by the Sangamon County Board on Tuesday is planned to fund an expansion of the publicly owned Bank...

(The Center Square) – Following a U.S. Supreme Court decision Monday, Illinois elected officials are urging residents to send any mail-in ballots to be cast in the midterms ahead of election day. The highest court temporarily allowed the Trump administration to maintain an executive order placing restrictions on mail-in voting across the country, requiring the U.S. Postal Service to cross referenc...

(The Center Square) – A slate of Democrats running in statewide races appeared at the Illinois State Fair on Wednesday during a campaign event, discussing what they could do to push back against President Donald Trump’s administration during a campaign event. Retiring U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., and Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., appeared alongside the slate of statewide officials and candidates...

(The Center Square) – The Illinois State Fair is expected to generate about $100 million of economic impact after taxpayers invested nearly $190 million for infrastructure and programming. The fair is set to run from Thursday morning until Sunday, August 23 at the state fairgrounds in Springfield. Gov. J.B. Pritzker said both the Illinois State Fair and the Du Quoin State Fair are important to the...

(The Center Square) – An Illinois House of Representatives committee decided it will move forward with an investigation into a number of complaints against a central Illinois lawmaker, but only after the special committee receives input from the U.S. Attorney's Office that brought charges against her. The first hearing of the Special Investigating Committee held at the State Capitol Thursday was l...

(The Center Square) – State Rep. Abdelnasser Rashid, D-Bridgeview, issued a statement calling for legislation he introduced to bring further ethics reform to Springfield following the unanimous vote by the Legislative Ethics Commission to release an investigation report into former Rep. Harry Benton, who was accused of sexual harassment. Rashid’s House Bill 3562 would bring the Legislative Inspect...

(The Center Square) – After reporting about a now-resigned state representative and allegations that Illinois House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch may have mishandled allegations against the lawmaker, new questions are being raised about the speaker’s own behavior, particularly toward women on staff. The Chicago Tribune reported details last week from an unnamed former staffer of former Rep. Harry...

(The Center Square) — Illinois State Rep. Carrol Ammons, federally indicted on multiple charges of wire fraud, pleaded not guilty in her first court appearance Thursday morning. With the courtroom gallery at its maximum capacity of 49 people, roughly 30 people, consisting of members of the public — along with friends, family and supporters of the representative — were sent to watch the hearing in...

(The Center Square) – An Illinois state representative faces multiple counts of wire fraud and providing a false statement, according to a federal indictment released Tuesday night. State Rep. Carol Ammons, D-Urbana, was charged with eight counts of wire fraud surrounding an alleged kickback scheme involving campaign contributions. She was also charged with conspiracy to obstruct justice. Her husb...

(The Center Square) – The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 6-3 against an executive order by President Donald Trump Tuesday, which sought to ban birthright citizenship nationwide. A number of political heavyweights in Illinois have weighed in on the judgement. The court heard arguments and ultimately struck down the president’s February 2025 order stripping birthright citizenship protections from children...

(The Center Square) – Gov. J.B. Pritzker says higher proposed Illinois Tollway rates are for many users that travel to and from other states. Illinois Tollway officials are proposing a toll increase of about 45 cents per toll for IPASS users and a 30% rate hike for commercial IPASS users. At a ribbon cutting for building solutions company Amrize in Chicago on Tuesday, a reporter from The Center Sq...

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed a $55.9 billion state budget for fiscal year 2027, with tens of millions of dollars included for non-governmental organizations. The governor placed his signature on the new spending plan in Chicago on Tuesday, calling it his eighth straight balanced budget. “This budget lowers costs for everyday Illinoisans and protects our state’s fiscal health and continues th...

(The Center Square) – Gov. J.B. Pritzker says there could be a special legislative session in Illinois this summer, but he won’t raise people’s taxes to pay for a new Chicago Bears stadium. Pritzker spoke in Chicago on Tuesday afternoon and said there could be a special session if the General Assembly can get together on one piece of Bears legislation. “The first priority for me is we're not raisi...

(The Center Square) – Gov. J.B. Pritzker says Illinois’ new budget for fiscal year 2027 protects working families from new taxes, but Republican state Rep. Blaine Wilhour says the governor can’t stop asking for more. The governor touted investments in housing, education and health care in the $55.9 billion spending plan approved by the General Assembly on Monday. “We made all of those people-first...

(The Center Square) – Illinois may soon have a prescription affordability board to impose price caps on drugs, but questions are being raised over the proposed board’s potential effectiveness and lack of budget appropriations. Senate Bill 3496 was filed in February to ensure proper licensing of nurses, but the bill text was gutted and replaced by House Amendment 1 to establish a Prescription Drug...

Illinois is projected to see less tax income than state agencies previously expected due to a variety of economic factors. With revised estimates, some lawmakers worry there may be a shortfall, which could prevent a balanced budget from being passed this month. Both the Illinois Department of Revenue – which oversees the collection of state funds – and the Commission on Government Forecasting and...

(The Center Square) – New tax proposals being considered in Springfield could bring nearly $7 billion in revenue to the state, according to advocates. Critics say the proposals – which would change corporate tax rules, among other impactful tax changes – could drive capital and jobs out of the state. The Illinois Revenue Alliance and Democrat lawmakers on Wednesday discussed initiatives they want...