We speak with Mack Julion, the president of Chicago’s postal worker union, about mail-in voting for November’s election amid postal service cutbacks. 

A preview of Michelle Obama’s keynote speech and more in this special edition of our weekly roundtable as the convention gets underway.

A political convention unlike any other is underway as Democratic leaders step up their fight against President Donald Trump and his attacks on mail-in voting. We discuss that and more with U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Sunday she is calling the House back into session over the crisis at the U.S. Postal Service, setting up a political showdown amid growing concerns that the Trump White House is trying to undermine the agency ahead of the election.

Former Illinois Gov. James R. Thompson, whose prosecutions of public officials — including a predecessor — helped catapult him to become the state’s longest-serving chief executive, has died. He was 84. 

The U.S. Postal Service is warning states it cannot guarantee that all ballots cast by mail for the Nov. 3 election will arrive in time to be counted, even if ballots are mailed by state deadlines. 

Mayor Lightfoot announces a plan to prevent looting as the Chicago Police Department seeks the public’s help in apprehending additional suspects. As Election Day draws closer, the Postal Service issues a warning about mail-in ballots.

Under Illinois law, a voter can request a mail-in ballot up to five days before Election Day. But the USPS warns that voters who wait until that deadline are at high risk of being disenfranchised, due to the Postal Service’s delivery capabilities.

The mayor announced a five-point plan to protect businesses and better identify and respond to looting through analytics, additional police deployments and faster lockdowns in areas where businesses are being burglarized.

Joe Biden is calling for a nationwide protective mask mandate, citing health experts’ predictions that it could save 40,000 lives from coronavirus over the next three months.

A group of lawmakers proposes a new ethics package as another member of the Illinois General Assembly is charged with a federal crime.

Led by Mayor Lori Lightfoot, a new plan for police reform from the U.S. Conference of Mayors calls for sweeping changes to agreements with police unions in order to allow officers to be held accountable for misconduct.

President Donald Trump said he opposes additional funding for the U.S. Postal Service, acknowledging that his position would starve the agency of money Democrats say it needs to process an anticipated surge in mail-in ballots.

More 230,000 Chicago voters have applied to vote by mail in November, shattering the record set during this year’s primary election with more than 80 days left until Election Day, officials said Thursday.

Likely Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden has formally announced Sen. Kamala Harris as his running mate. Our politics team takes on that story and other national and local news in this week’s roundtable.

November’s election is sure to be unlike any other — and not just because of who is on the ballot, but because of how people are expected to cast their ballots.