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.

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.

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 Republican nominee for governor said he’s moved into an apartment on Chicago’s near South Side that will serve as a sort of “headquarters” for his Chicago-area campaign operation.

Illinois is gearing up for a rematch. Former state legislator Darren Bailey won the Republican nomination for governor on Tuesday, meaning he will face incumbent Gov. JB Pritzker in the November general election.

Four Republican candidates ran for a chance to unseat Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker in the Nov. 3 general election.

President Donald Trump’s and Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency disbanded less than a year into Trump’s second term and appeared to have caused more chaos than actual savings to the federal government.

Darren Bailey said he received encouragement from President Donald Trump to “keep fighting” and stay in the race. “That’s exactly what we’re going to do,” Bailey said.

The once-every-two-year spectacle is the formal kickoff to campaign season, with candidates for state, federal and judicial offices filing hundreds to thousands of signatures to secure their place on the March 17 primary ballot.

Darren Bailey, the former state senator who is running to become Illinois’ next governor, announced early Thursday that his son, daughter-in-law and two grandchildren were killed in a helicopter crash in Montana.

Rick Heidner, a Barrington Hills real estate developer and the owner of Gold Rush Gaming, formed a gubernatorial campaign committee on Tuesday, according to a filing with the State Board of Elections.

Illinois’ Republican primary for governor is growing expensive as the party's 2022 nominee works to rebuild his campaign fund while another candidate receives support from one of the state’s wealthiest Republican donors.

Bailey began the campaign in downstate Carterville before taking a helicopter owned and piloted by his son to Bloomington, then departing for his opening rally in suburban Oak Brook later in the evening.

The former state senator and farmer from Clay County would become the highest-profile Republican to enter the race, having lost the 2022 campaign against Gov. JB Pritzker and a close primary race in 2024 against U.S. Rep. Mike Bost for a downstate congressional seat.

A hearing officer is recommending the Illinois State Board of Elections dismiss a complaint that alleged conservative radio host and political operative Dan Proft illegally coordinated with former Republican state Sen. Darren Bailey during his 2022 campaign for governor.

The complaint alleges Proft’s independent expenditure committee – the “People Who Play By The Rules PAC” – coordinated with Bailey, violating both state and federal law.