Politics
Both candidates are current U.S. Representatives — Casten in the 6th District, Newman in the 3rd District — and are facing off in the 6th District, which includes many of Chicago’s western suburbs.
U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis conceded to first-term Republican Mary Miller in the hotly contested GOP race in the 15th Congressional district, saying it’s been “the honor of a lifetime to serve the people of Illinois.”
U.S. Rep. Danny Davis was first elected to represent the district in 1996 and recently secured the endorsement of President Joe Biden. He’s highlighted the work he’s done in Congress to bring home resources for his constituents, but faced criticism by Kina Collins and some of her backers for missed votes and a lengthy tenure.
Jonathan Jackson, the son of famed Civil Rights icon Jesse Jackson, emerged from the crowded field to win the Democratic nomination in the 1st Congressional district to replace U.S. Rep. Bobby Rush.
Cook County Assessor Fritz Kaegi defeated challenger Kari Steele in his bid for a second term in what was the county’s most expensive and high-profile Democratic primary contest on Tuesday.
Delia Ramirez will face the lone Republican in the race, Justin Burau, in the November general election.
In what’s been called “the battle of the billionaires,” some of the country’s wealthiest men are trying to influence Illinois’ Governor’s race. That includes the current Governor, Hyatt hotel heir J. B. Pritzker, whose campaign is largely self-funded.
Cassidy Hutchinson quoted Trump as directing his staff, in profane terms, to take away the magnetometers that he thought would slow down supporters who’d gathered in Washington. In videotaped testimony played before the committee, she recalled the former president saying words to the effect of: “I don’t f-in’ care that they have weapons.”
In the Republican race for governor in Illinois, Darren Bailey, a farmer endorsed by former President Donald Trump, wants to end the state’s right to abortion except for instances in which the mother’s life is in danger. He doesn’t support exceptions for rape or incest. His opponent, Richard Irvin, has said he would allow abortions in instances of rape, incest or when the mother’s life is at risk.
With the Supreme Court striking down Roe v. Wade, Illinois elected officials are planning a legislative response. A special session will be called in July.
The relationship between the public and the judiciary has been studied and debated by legal and political scholars. The short answer: it’s complicated. There’s evidence that the public has an indirect role in the judiciary, but that might be changing.
It is the night before the primary election in Illinois and candidates are making a last-minute push for votes. Our Spotlight Politics team of Amanda Vinicky, Paris Schutz and Heather Cherone previews the hottest races in the state.
The court ruled 6-3 for the coach with the court’s conservative justices in the majority and its liberals in dissent. The case forced the justices to wrestle with how to balance the religious and free speech rights of teachers and coaches with the rights of students not to feel pressured into participating in religious practices.
The committee’s investigation has been ongoing during the hearings that started three weeks ago, and the panel has continued to probe the attack by supporters of then-President Donald Trump. Among other investigative evidence, the committee recently obtained new footage of Trump and his inner circle taken both before and after Jan. 6, 2021 from British filmmaker Alex Holder.
More than 55% of the department’s 587 seasonal lifeguard positions were vacant as of Thursday, according to Chicago Park District data, eight days after officials announced the city’s 49 outdoor pools would not open on schedule — leaving Chicagoans to swelter during a record-breaking heat wave.
Miller is running for reelection in the state’s newly redrawn 15th Congressional District against GOP Rep. Rodney Davis with the former president’s blessing. She had been invited on stage to speak by Trump, who held the rally in Mendon, Illinois, to turn out the vote ahead of the state’s Tuesday primary.