The 39-year-old Ohio senator is a relative political unknown. In his first primetime speech since becoming the nominee for vice president, Vance spoke of growing up poor in Kentucky and Ohio, his mother addicted to drugs and his father absent, and how he later joined the military and went on to the highest levels of U.S. politics.

Among the “Never Trumpers” who spoke was former Illinois Republican congressman and longtime Trump critic Joe Walsh, who called on attendees to vote for any Democratic candidate who can keep the former president from a second term in office.

“We will adhere to the Republican platform, we are a party of the people and freedom,” Illinois Republican Party Chair Kathy Salvi said, declining to say whether she personally supports a national abortion ban. 

“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.

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 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.

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

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.

Thousands of anti-Donald Trump protesters gathered in downtown Milwaukee on Monday to protest the first day of the Republican National Convention. WTTW News social media producer Michael Izquierdo documented the march in photos.

Applause broke out Monday morning as Illinois delegates got word during their meeting at the Republican National Convention that a judge dismissed the federal classified documents case against former President Donald Trump.

Illinoisans in Wisconsin for their first Republican National Convention say they’re excited about the week ahead and motivated by their passion to see former President Donald Trump reclaim the White House.

Illinois might be a solidly blue state when it comes to presidential elections, but the Land of Lincoln still has plenty of big-money donors backing conservative candidates and causes. With the Republican National Convention upon us, here’s a look at the Illinoisans who have been spending big so far in this political cycle.

For all the usual stagecraft, the Republican National Convention that opens Monday is different from Donald Trump’s previous nominating affairs.

Attorney Kathy Salvi ran unsuccessfully against incumbent U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth in 2022. Salvi assumes the post July 19, the day after the Republican National Convention wraps in Milwaukee.

Human trafficking remains a problem in Illinois, with some data suggesting it has increased in recent years. Data from the Human Trafficking Institute ranks Illinois the 5th highest state for sex trafficking, and 9th highest for labor trafficking.