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.

After nearly two years of budget gridlock, spiraling deficits and political acrimony in Springfield, a grand bargain on the budget is coming together in the Illinois Senate.

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

House Speaker Michael Madigan cancels a meeting with Gov. Bruce Rauner. Is Springfield back to business as usual as lawmakers get set for the fall veto session?

A high-profile Republican state lawmaker and top ally of Gov. Bruce Rauner speaks out on why he abruptly decided to resign.

An Illinois senator is renewing his call for a proposed ban on bobcat trapping and the sale of the animals' pelts after a reported deal with the Illinois Department of Natural Resources fell through.

Illinois State House Republican Leader Jim Durkin joins "Chicago Tonight" after a week of incendiary rhetoric in Springfield as the end of the fiscal year is just two weeks away.

Days after a bipartisan group filed a constitutional amendment that would take redistricting out of the hands of state lawmakers, a lawsuit was filed to get the proposal thrown out.

Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois did not entirely shoot down rumors that he’s considering a run for governor in 2018, but he did ask those speculating to “cool it” and focus instead on a state budget.

This fall, hunters in Illinois will be able to hunt and trap bobcats for the first time in more than four decades. But some state lawmakers are pushing for a ban on trapping the animals and selling their pelts.

An Illinois constitutional amendment that would create an independent commission to redraw legislative districts every 10 years is one step closer to November’s election ballot. The group Independent Maps delivered petitions with 570,000 signatures to the state capitol in Springfield on Friday. 

Law enforcement agencies like the Chicago Police Department are increasingly using cellphone tracking devices, or Stingrays, to gather data on people. Why some Illinois legislators are trying to tone it down.

President Barack Obama addressed a joint session of the Illinois General Assembly on Wednesday afternoon—nine years to the day after he announced his run for the White House on the steps of the Old State Capitol. In a return to his old stomping grounds as a state senator, the president invoked many of the same themes from his 2007 speech.

Gov. Bruce Rauner delivered his second State of the State address Wednesday as Illinois continues to see an unprecedented budget impasse. How will Rauner appeal to the Democratic-controlled General Assembly and how will Democratic leaders respond? Amanda Vinicky joins us to share reactions from lawmakers.  

Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner on Thursday announced a pension deal to reform Illinois' troubled state retirement system, but Democratic leaders in the legislature quickly pushed back on the plan. A panel of lawmakers discusses the proposal and whether it has any chance of passing the General Assembly.

A nonpartisan coalition aims to wrestle political mapmaking out of the hands of lawmakers and into the hands of the people. Cindi Canary, the organization’s executive director, joins us to discuss the citizen initiative Independent Maps.