Stories by Amanda Vinicky

Attorney General Lisa Madigan took legal action Thursday night that could bring an end to Illinois’ long-running budget imbroglio, by initiating either a shutdown or a compromise.

Gov. Bruce Rauner largely bypassed Illinois’ myriad troubles and instead spent much of his speech Wednesday listing his administration’s achievements and calling for cooperation. 

Gov. Bruce Rauner is poised to deliver a State of the State address Wednesday expressing optimism about Illinois’ future, but his one-time compatriot Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel wants him to apologize.

Illinois residents would pay a personal income tax rate of 4.99 percent under the latest incarnation of a bipartisan proposal proffered by Senate leaders. 

How can Chicago stem the surge of violence? Police, prosecutors, and judges offered ideas Thursday for dealing with troubled youth, some of whom offered ideas of their own. 

There’s no guarantee Illinois government employees will strike, but the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 31 has taken initial steps toward the unprecedented action.

The prolonged standoff between Gov. Bruce Rauner and Illinois’ largest public employees’ union may lead to an unprecedented strike of state government employees.

“We made some wonderful progress, also had some frustrations with lack of progress on some key items,” Gov. Bruce Rauner said of his tenure Thursday as he took to Facebook Live for a two-year review. 

Michael Madigan wins an unprecedented 17th term as Illinois House Speaker, and the Republican Party is already undermining its own calls for bipartisanship.  

Illinois’ 99th General Assembly has wrapped up for good, without ever having passed a complete state budget. 

While Illinois’ impasse thus far has been caused by a partisan divide, divergent approaches by the House and Senate to the state’s yearslong political stalemate serve to create a new potential rift, this time between the two Democratic-led chambers.

Illinois lawmakers go back to Springfield next week. Will they be ready to take budget action in the new year?