(Randy von Liski / Flickr)

With terms that last 10 years, having two competitive Illinois Supreme Court contests in a single election cycle – as is the case in the suburbs outside of Cook County this November – is rare and the results potentially significant.

(Credit: WGN-TV)

Gubernatorial candidates sling mud in their first televised debate. No property tax hikes in Mayor Lightfoot’s election year budget. Homeless advocates press Lightfoot for more funding. And the White Sox head into an offseason full of questions.

(WTTW News)

Early voting begins in Chicago on Friday, but voters will have fewer opportunities to be informed about the positions of those on the ballot because there are fewer debates. It’s a national trend, though one that’s difficult to measure.

(WTTW News)

Early voting sites will open to all Chicago voters and voter registration services will be available.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot delivers her budget address on Oct. 3, 2022. (WTTW News)

Mayor Lori Lightfoot unveils a $16.4 billion budget proposal – but bows to political reality and drops a property tax hike linked to inflation. Our politics team weighs in on that story and more.

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The law, known as the SAFE-T Act, will eliminate cash bail come January. But it’s likely the law will see an overhaul of its own — or at least, tweaks — before then.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot. (WTTW News)

Mayor Lori Lightfoot nixes a plan for a $42 million property tax increase tied to inflation. And a WGN poll says Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker has a double-digit lead over his Republican challenger Darren Bailey, who this week likened Chicago to an unruly child.

(WTTW News)

Among the choices voters will have to make on Nov. 8 is whether to add a new amendment to the Illinois constitution that would give workers the “fundamental right to organize and to bargain collectively” while at the same time forbidding any law that interferes with that ability.

(WTTW News)

“We have a serious shortage of judges and poll workers,” Cook County Clerk Yarbrough said. “The clerk’s office manages elections in suburban Cook County and we’ve seen our number of election judges shrink significantly in recent years. Over the last eight years, we’ve seen a reduction of about 40%.”

(WTTW News)

The Safety, Accountability, Fairness, and Equity Today Act — better known as the SAFE-T Act — was signed into law by Governor J.B. Pritzker in 2021. It has now become a campaign talking point. 

(WTTW News)

The February 2023 election represents a nearly unprecedented opportunity for Democratic Socialists to not only take on Mayor Lori Lightfoot but also to remake the Chicago City Council after a wave of retirements and departures.

Members of the Chicago City Council meet on Wednesday, May 26, 2021. (WTTW News)

The February 2023 election represents a nearly unprecedented opportunity for Democratic Socialists to not only take on Mayor Lori Lightfoot but also to remake the Chicago City Council after a wave of retirements and departures.

(WTTW News)

The so-called Workers’ Rights Amendment would guarantee Illinois workers the constitutional right to collectively bargain for things like wages, hours and working conditions. 

(WTTW News)

The change is a nearly 40% decrease that will put twice as many voters in each precinct. The Chicago Board of Elections has created 1,290 precincts with an average of 1,165 voters per precinct. Previously, the city had 2,069 voter precincts with an average of 550 to 750 voters per precinct.

Pastor Brian Phillips, Darren Bailey and Cindy Bailey at the Grove Fellowship in Poplar Grove on Aug. 21, 2022. (Credit: The Grove Fellowship / Facebook)

Darren Bailey, Republican candidate for Illinois governor, has campaigned with two pastors who were on the grounds of the U.S. Capitol during the riots on Jan. 6. Bailey appeared on stage with one of them during a service last Sunday.

Darren Bailey appears in a 2017 social media video. (Facebook)

The Republican nominee for Illinois governor, Darren Bailey, is feeling the backlash from both sides of the aisle for comparing abortion to the Holocaust. Our politics team weighs in on that story and more.