Illinois Republicans are pushing for changes to the law that they say would make it easier for judges to detain defendants awaiting trial. Lawmakers have until May 31 to adjust the SAFE-T Act, after which they would need to wait for the fall legislative session.

In an October interview with a downstate radio station, state Sen. Terri Bryant said she gave a list of undocumented individuals currently being held in Illinois state prisons to Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem.

At issue is concerns over drug exposures tied to physical mail and whether paper should be digitally scanned for incarcerated people. That debate may be over as IDOC signed a contract in October that will give the department the ability to scan physical mail and deliver digital copies, according to the contract obtained by WTTW News through a Freedom of Information Act request.

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.

The president’s wife and children present the case for their dad’s reelection. Republican state lawmakers share their thoughts about the Republican National Convention so far.