President Donald Trump has been the dominant political force within the Republican Party for more than a decade, but he was barely mentioned by party leaders at Republican Day at the Illinois State Fair on Thursday.

Party leaders say Republicans need to balance campaigning on ethics problems with addressing voters’ concerns about affordability.

The race to build data centers, which power artificial intelligence and cloud computing, has run aground amid frustration from voters who don’t want to live near the massive warehouse campuses.

U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren urged Illinois Democrats on Wednesday to unite behind all of the party’s nominees in the upcoming midterm elections so they can win control of Congress and block Republican President Donald Trump from advancing his agenda.

Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker once championed data centers. But as they have scaled up, he’s paused state incentives and his position has evolved to one of “responsible growth.” Republican candidate Darren Bailey has both criticized Pritzker’s pause of the tax incentive program and claimed credit for inspiring it.

Democrats remain mixed over what ideological direction the party should take. But across a series of closely watched primaries, they are sending a clearer message about the party’s path forward: They want change.

David Crowley’s razor-thin primary win over a democratic socialist sets up a Wisconsin governor’s race against a Republican congressman who has voted with President Donald Trump 100% of the time.

The latest battle over the Democratic ideological divide this year shifts to the upper Midwest on Tuesday as nominating contests for governor in Wisconsin and U.S. senator in Minnesota pit left-wing candidates against more traditional ones.

The competition to take over U.S. Rep. Jesús “Chuy” García’s seat was thinned out this week after Chicago Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez (25th Ward) and Mayra Macías were removed from the ballot for failing to secure enough valid petition signatures.

The question — posed by Mayor Brandon Johnson — will fill the final spot on the November ballot, ending a proxy fight between the mayor and his increasingly emboldened opponents on the Chicago City Council, even though the results will only carry symbolic weight.

If the board’s decision stands, Patty García will have a much smoother path to replacing U.S. Rep. Jesús “Chuy” García, her former boss, in Congress.

In a recent speech, President Donald Trump discussed foreign interference, noncitizen voting and vulnerabilities in the American election system — reiterating some widely disproven charges. The administration released a trove of heavily redacted documents.

The fight over which questions will appear on November’s ballot erupted into a proxy fight between the mayor and his increasingly emboldened opponents on the City Council, even though the results will only carry symbolic weight.

 Lindsey Graham’s sister, Darline Graham Nordone, has been named as her late brother’s temporary replacement in the U.S. Senate after his unexpected death over the weekend.

Republican Darren Bailey’s campaign for governor is embracing images made with artificial intelligence in social media posts. Gov. JB Pritzker’s campaign manager said the governor’s campaign has a policy against using AI in public-facing content.

The Supreme Court on Tuesday erased limits on how much political parties can spend in coordination with candidates for Congress and president, striking down a federal election law that is more than 50 years old.