Democrats hold all of Illinois’ statewide offices and super-majorities in the legislature, and they’re looking to not only keep it that way come November, but to also tighten their stronghold, including by tipping suburban contests, like the DuPage and Kane County boards.

We’re live at the Illinois State Fair and it’s Democrat Day. Plus, opening statements in the R. Kelly trial. Why insulin is so expensive. And earning a bachelor’s degree in a maximum security prison.

Highland Park calls for a ban on semi-automatic weapons. Our politics team weighs in on that story and more.

President Joe Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act into law this week, which among other things, puts a $35 cap on insulin prices. But that will only apply to Medicare recipients, leaving the rest of Americans who depend on the life-saving medication to continue paying huge prices.

While many schools will offer classes for credit to prison inmates, Northwestern University says its the only top 10 school that grants degrees to prisoners. And next spring, students at Stateville Correctional Center, a maximum-security prison in Will County, will be the first to receive their bachelor's degrees from Northwestern while in prison.

The Chicago Welcome Back Center launched Tuesday at Richard J. Daley College and will serve as a resource center for individuals trained internationally in health care fields who are working to receive licensure in the U.S. 

Opening statements got underway at the Dirksen Federal Building on Wednesday in R. Kelly’s second federal trial, where he stands accused of multiple child pornography-related charges, as well as conspiracy to obstruct justice and enticing a minor to engage in criminal sexual activity.

President Biden signs his signature piece of legislation. The state’s top doctor on COVID and more. An Afghanistan war interpreter’s fight for citizenship. And the Morton Arboretum turns 100.

Dr. Sameer Vohra took over the Illinois Department of Public Health earlier this month.

A dual memoir by a Chicago-native U.S. Marine and an Afghan interpreter offers insight into the chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan one year later and the Afghans who are still trying to find safety and security.

This year marks the centennial of the Morton Arboretum in DuPage County. Fifty years before it was established, the founder’s father started Arbor Day. Producer Marc Vitali visited the 1,700-acre public garden for a bit of history and to meet a photographer who has explored the place since his first visit in the 1960s.

A glimmer of hope for the Mag Mile, lessons learned on the one-year anniversary of the Afghanistan withdrawal, the troubling resurgence of Polio, a hostile workplace lawsuit roils Amazon and a Little Village mall in limbo.

Polio was once one of the nation’s most feared diseases, with annual outbreaks causing thousands of cases of paralysis. Its elimination in the U.S., officially declared in 1979, is considered one of the nation’s greatest public health victories.