Former President Donald Trump ran a campaign with messages on mass deportation, higher tariffs and anti-transgender rhetoric that drew in swaths of voters from the coveted swing states needed to secure the win.

Chief Financial Officer Jill Jaworski told members of the City Council’s Budget and Government Operations Committee on Wednesday that the $17.3 billion spending plan “prioritizes the city’s long-term fiscal stability.”

For the first time, a convicted felon is set to occupy the White House. There’s no constitutional prohibition against someone with a felony record running for or serving as president of the United States. But in Illinois, anyone with a felony conviction is barred from holding local elected office.

With Vice President Kamala Harris conceding the race for the White House, Illinois Democrats who’d served as surrogates for her on the campaign trail weighed in for the first time on her loss.

“We will work to defend and expand the rights of immigrants at the state and local levels even when the federal government attempts to take those rights away including DACA, health care expansion and more,” said Dulce Ortiz, executive director of Mano a Mano Family Resource Center.

Vice President Kamala Harris delivered her remarks at Howard University, her alma mater and one of the country’s most prominent historically Black schools, in the same spot where she hoped to give a victory speech.

The former president and now president-elect often skipped over details but through more than a year of policy pronouncements and written statements outlined a wide-ranging agenda. It would scale back federal government efforts on civil rights and expand presidential powers.

Former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan, 82, and his longtime confidant Michael McClain, 77, are charged with racketeering, bribery and wire fraud. They have each pleaded not guilty.

A unified Republican grip on Washington would set the course for Trump’s agenda. Or if Democrats wrest control of the House, it would provide an almost certain backstop, with veto power over the White House.

The race was eyed by political analysts as the most contested in Illinois, considered the only potential outlier among the heavily partisan boundaries that allowed every other incumbent to glide to victory.

An estimated 60.3% of voters said “yes” to theoretically adding a 3% tax to incomes over $1 million, with the funds going to reduce property taxes. It was one of three non-binding questions on the ballot statewide, meaning it’s akin to a poll with the results triggering no change in law.

As a Republican wave swept across the country, Illinois Democrats are set to maintain their veto-proof majorities in the state legislature, even with a handful of races still too close to call as of Wednesday morning.

With the GOP looking to retain its slim majority in the U.S. House of Representatives, all Illinois incumbents won their bids for reelection. 

Nature was on the ballot in several suburban counties, with forest preserve and conservations districts in DuPage, Kane, Lake and McHenry asking for funding increases to support land acquisition, habitat restoration and ongoing maintenance.

Donald Trump was elected the 47th president of the United States on Wednesday, an extraordinary comeback for a former president who refused to accept defeat four years ago, sparked a violent insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, was convicted of felony charges and survived two assassination attempts.

WTTW News reporters are spread out across Chicago covering the 2024 general election. Check back throughout the day for continuous updates on local, state and national races.