The atmosphere in the hotel Thursday morning was different. A lot of smiling; a lot of buzz among the delegates for tonight’s big show; although there were a lot of red eyes, too. That's because sleep has been at a premium.

Paris Schutz joins us from the Republican National Convention with the latest news.

Congressman Aaron Schock joins us from Tampa with the latest news from the Republican National Convention.

Paul Ryan addresses the Republican National Convention. We take a look at his speech with Northwestern Law Senior Lecturer Jason DeSanto, Elizabeth Brackett and Phil Ponce on Chicago Tonight at 10:00 pm. And, we hear from Congressman Aaron Schock and Paris Schutz from Tampa.

Relations between House Speaker John Boehner and former speaker Nancy Pelosi have never been warm. Speaking to the Illinois delegation this morning, Boehner indicated that the battle was back on.

Standard & Poor's Ratings Services announced Wednesday that it is lowering their rating on bonds issued by the state of Illinois from an A+ rating to an A rating. The cost of General Obligation bonds will now increase for taxpayers because of the lower A rating. S&P analysts noted that the rating was lowered due to “the state’s weak pension funding levels and lack of action on reform measures.”

If you tune to local convention coverage featuring dispatches from your favorite television political reporters (and your humble servant

The Chicago Teachers Union plans to file a 10-day strike notice on Wednesday, meaning a teacher walkout could begin as early as the secon

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and Ann Romney address the Republican National Convention.

Illinois State Treasurer Dan Rutherford joins us from Tampa with the latest news from the Republican National Convention.

Paris Schutz joins us from the Republican National Convention with the latest news.

Still recovering from his January stroke, Sen. Mark Kirk sent a video message to the Illinois delegation at the Republican National Convention in Tampa.

As Republicans finished their official events this morning, word spread that Gov. Pat Quinn had vetoed the gambling bill outright. Some of the Republican lawmakers we spoke with this morning had supported the bill, others had opposed, but all seemed united in criticizing the way the governor handled the veto.

Members of the Illinois delegation wandered through the lobby of the Sheraton Sand Key Resort in steamy Tampa today, and were treated to a magnificent ice sculpture of the capitol - the site of many meltdowns.

Earlier this year, Mayor Rahm Emanuel appointed an Ethics Reform Task Force to review the current ethics ordinance and make recommendations on how to improve it. The four-man task force released the first part of their recommendations back at the end of April, citing 34 specific recommendations on how the city could strengthen their ethics ordinance and curb corruption. The long-awaited part II of the report was finally released Monday.