On the 50th anniversary of his becoming a state representative, Michael Madigan lost the gavel to Rep. Emanuel “Chris” Welch – making the representative from suburban Hillside the first Black House speaker in state history.

With longtime Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan pausing his campaign for another term as speaker, Democratic members of the Illinois House are scrambling as the other contenders for the job attempt to secure the necessary votes.

A victory for the Chicago Teachers Union in Springfield on Monday could mark a change in the way the union is able to bargain with Chicago Public Schools over plans to reopen schools and other issues.

After a nearly interrupted 36-year reign as speaker of the Illinois House, state Rep. Michael Madigan is suspending his campaign for another term — but that doesn’t mean he’s giving up.

The new year usually brings with it hundreds of new laws in Illinois. But like everything else in recent history, the coronavirus pandemic has changed that up, too. On Jan. 1, 2021, only a trio of new laws will take effect.

A top legislator who in 2010 came close to becoming Illinois’ governor and who had only a couple of weeks left as the Senate’s top Republican is instead stepping down from the General Assembly, effective Friday.

Who will be the next speaker of the Illinois House? For the first time in decades, there’s no clear answer. Longtime Speaker Michael Madigan still wants the job — but at least 19 of his fellow Democrats say they won’t support him. We check in with some of the first to defect.

Tired of politics as usual? A pair of lawmakers say there’s a way to keep officials on their toes: allow voters to recall them. 

The state pays billions of dollars into the Medicaid program. WTTW News has learned that a group of lawmakers plans to demand billions back from the private health care companies that run that program. Can it work?

The Illinois law at the heart of the Commonwealth Edison bribery plot was a “profit machine” for the utility, according to a report released Tuesday by the Illinois Public Interest Research Group.

Faulting inaction in Washington, governors and state lawmakers are racing to get pandemic relief to small-business owners, the unemployed, renters and others whose livelihoods have been upended by COVID-19.

A defiant Michael Madigan vowed late Friday to run again for speaker of the Illinois House despite a swirling corruption investigation around him that has prompted 18 Democratic state representatives to say they will not vote to reelect him.

As of Thursday evening, 16 Democrats elected to be part of the Illinois House next year have publicly said they will not support Michael Madigan for what would be a historic 19th term in the powerful position.

The Illinois legislature is not coming back this year. What does that mean for the Black Lives Matter movement and the state budget?

This turbulent year spurred the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus to develop an anti-racism agenda. State Sen. Kimberly Lightford tells us how Black legislators hope to dismantle systemic racism.

It’s been more than six months since a state commission was supposed to issue a report on proposed ethics reforms and nearly a year since the bipartisan commission was first formed.