“Well, I'll tell you your blue funk is over,” newly elected chair of the Illinois Republican Party Kathy Salvi said. “We're going to make Illinois red again.”

WTTW News examined some of the claims made during the second day of the RNC, looked at criminal justice research and spoke to an expert about how research supports — or doesn’t — the campaign rhetoric.

Before the Republican National Convention draws to a close in Milwaukee, Chicago police officials are in town to learn more about the safety and security measures in place ahead of next month’s Democratic National Convention.

From brats to cheese, downtown Milwaukee businesses are hoping for a boost from the Republican National Convention. So far, business has been on the slow side. 

“No one, absolutely no one, wanted this outcome and I anticipate a full as well as thorough investigation,” Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson said early Wednesday morning. 

WTTW News reporters are spread out across Milwaukee covering the 2024 Republican National Convention and Illinois’ delegation. Check back throughout the day for continuous updates.

“The Republican party isn’t a scary place for Black folks,” said Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin to a gathering under the auspices of the Black Republican Mayor’s Association, an organization he founded and chairs.

According to Milwaukee Police Chief Jeffrey Norman, police officers from Columbus, Ohio, fatally shot the man around 1:10 p.m. Tuesday near King Park.

The Illinois delegation to the RNC got a message they might not have been expecting at their daily breakfast on Tuesday – early voting and mail-in ballots are your friends.

Brooks, a Republican, posted on social media that he is “grateful for this opportunity and looking forward to giving a shoutout to Chicago and Opportunity Block,” a reference to Brooks’ efforts to remake one of Chicago’s most violent blocks.

“We’re at a crossroads here,” U.S. Sen. Cory Booker, a Democrat from New Jersey, said. “The contrast couldn’t be more stark.”

The Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center in Skokie is taking its mission on the road this summer, bringing the stories of survivors to life at the Republican and Democratic National Conventions through virtual reality headsets.

The Milwaukee Police Department confirmed one person was arrested at the downtown protest Monday and one more person was arrested after the march concluded.

WTTW News reporters are spread out across Milwaukee covering the 2024 Republican National Convention and Illinois’ delegation. Check back throughout the day for continuous updates.

The Republican presidential ticket came together on Monday when Donald Trump named J.D. Vance as his running mate. In turning to the 39-year-old Ohio senator, the Republican nominee injected new energy into a campaign that has centered in recent weeks on questions of age following President Joe Biden’s disastrous debate performance.

The 39-year-old Vance rose to national fame with the 2016 publication of his memoir, “Hillbilly Elegy.” He was elected to the Senate in 2022 and has become one of the staunchest champions of the former president’s “Make America Great Again” agenda, particularly on trade, foreign policy and immigration.