U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth and U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi of Illinois were among the elected officials who attended the AAPI caucus meeting on the first day of the Democratic National Convention.

According to organizers each star will host one night of the four-day convention, in a role similar to an award show host, kicking off the broadcast with opening remarks and then reappearing onstage throughout the evening to help guide the audience through programming.

Mayor Brandon Johnson will wear the jacket if the convention does not go as planned — but benefit if Chicago shines on the national stage.

Illinois Democrats are putting their money where their mouths are this election cycle — but a change at the top of the ticket and federal campaign finance reporting deadlines mean we won’t have the full picture of the cash influx until later this year.

The Democratic National Committee calls it a “celebratory Roll Call” and said in a statement the event would give delegates the opportunity to “celebrate the nomination” of Harris, who is the first woman of color to lead a major party presidential ticket.

Organizers said 17,000 people have applied to volunteer at the Democratic National Convention, with an additional 15,000 people on the waitlist.

Pew Research estimates Latinos make up nearly 15% of the eligible voting population in the United States, with roughly 36.2 million Latino voters. That’s up from 32.3 million in 2020.

Illinois Republicans say they are still as united about the upcoming election as they were at their national convention in Milwaukee last month, despite surge of enthusiasm for the Democrats’ new presidential candidate, Vice President Kamala Harris.

The Illinois Democratic Party is gearing up for a busy week in Chicago. During the Democratic National Convention, members will be meeting with other party leaders, discussing policies and rallying behind presidential candidate Kamala Harris.

Democrats gathered in Springfield Wednesday for their annual rally at the Illinois State Fair amid a surge of enthusiasm and a renewed sense of optimism about their chances of retaining the White House in November.

A Chicago church is launching a strategic voting initiative, bringing in local and national star power like the Rev. Al Sharpton to engage more Black voters and encourage them to coalesce around one candidate.

Donald Trump opened his speech with off-script attacks on the media and aired his grievances over the Democrats swapping Vice President Kamala Harris for President Joe Biden, questioning her intelligence and saying she has “the laugh of a crazy person.”

New York is just one of more than a half-dozen states where challenges have been made to Kennedy’s petitions from Democrats and their allies. Some of the challenges allege he falsely listed the same New York address that was the subject of litigation in that state, or that there were problems with petition signatures.

U.S. District Court Judge Andrea Wood ruled that the 1.4-mile march route proposed by Chicago officials was sufficient to ensure that the Coalition to March on the DNC can protest while Democratic delegates gather to celebrate their nominee for president.

Both candidates unveiled their plans in Nevada, a state with one of the highest concentrations of tipped service workers in the country. 

Vice President Kamala Harris had a whirlwind week in which she formally secured the Democratic nomination and announced Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate. For Illinois members of the U.S. Congress, that shift will change the tenor of the convention set to hit Chicago.