Politics

The seal of Will County outside the Will County clerk’s office. (Vincent D. Johnson/for the Daily Southtown)

Will County clerk, treasurer and regional superintendent face election challenges

By Michelle Mullins

October 13, 2026 at 5:37 a.m.

Republican Annette Parker and Democrat Michelle Stiff run for clerk and Democrat Tim Brophy and...

People congregate outside the Illinois State Capitol building in Springfield on May 6, 2026. (Eileen T. Meslar/baiduhai)

Illinois Democrats on defense over scandals in races for state legislature

By Jeremy Gorner

October 13, 2026 at 5:00 a.m.

With the national political landscape tilting against Republicans ahead of next month's midterm elections, the...

Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., takes questions during a news conference at the Capitol in Washington, Jan. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

What to know about the search of Democratic US Rep. Ilhan Omar’s home

By Nicholas Riccardi

October 12, 2026 at 5:54 p.m.

What to know about the search of Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar’s Washington, D.C. home on...

Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., speaks at a Martin Luther King Jr. Day commemoration at the South Carolina Statehouse, Jan. 19, 2026, in Columbia, S.C. (AP Photo/Meg Kinnard, File)

Democratic congressman says he was detained by the Israeli military and settlers in the West Bank

By Nicholas Riccardi

July 11, 2026 at 2:57 p.m.

Rep. Ro Khanna said Saturday that he was detained by settlers and the Israeli military...

Banners of former President George Washington and President Donald Trump hang above an entrance to the Department of the Interior, Thursday, June 25, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Trump administration rolls back key protection for imperiled wildlife

By Wufei Yu

July 11, 2026 at 10:02 a.m.

The administration narrowed the definition of “harm” under the landmark law — a change with...

Betty and Rosella Nelson view the body of John Dillinger while in bathing suits at the Cook County Morgue, located at Polk and Wood Streets in Chicago. In the days after Dillinger was killed on July 22, 1934, massive crowds lined up outside the morgue to get a glimpse of the notorious public enemy. (Chicago Herald and Examiner)

Illinois 250: True crime, gangsters, notorious cases, disasters and unexplained disappearances

By Kori Rumore

July 13, 2026 at 12:30 p.m.

A look back at the most infamous, shocking, blood-curdling or mysterious true crime stories from...

National Park Service workers stand near a pump placed next to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, Friday, July 10, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

Crews are draining the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool again as part of President Trump’s troubled revamp

By Will Weissert

July 10, 2026 at 7:44 p.m.

Crews are again draining the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool as President Donald Trump’s problem-plagued effort...

State Rep. Carol Ammons and the Black Caucus deliver a response to Gov. JB Pritzker’s annual State of the State and budget address on Feb. 18, 2026, at the Illinois State Capitol in Springfield. (Brian Cassella/baiduhai)

Illinois House GOP triggers committee investigation after federal indictment of Democratic Rep. Carol Ammons

By Olivia Olander

July 10, 2026 at 6:54 p.m.

The Illinois House is launching a committee to investigate Rep. Carol Ammons after the Urbana...

Campaign flyers for former Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate Graham Platner are seen at his headquarters Thursday, July 9, 2026, in Ellsworth, Maine. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

Graham Platner formally withdraws from Maine Senate race, kicking off Democrats’ quest for nomination

By Meg Kinnard

July 10, 2026 at 5:20 p.m.

Graham Platner has submitted his paperwork to formally withdraw from Maine’s U.S. Senate race, officially...

Supervisor Napoleon Harris III attends a Thornton Township Board meeting July 22, 2025, in South Holland. (Armando L. Sanchez/baiduhai)

Complaint argues Thornton Township Supervisor Napoleon Harris doesn’t live in township

By Olivia Stevens

July 10, 2026 at 2:56 p.m.

Former McHenry Township Trustee Bob Anderson says Thornton Township Supervisor Napoleon Harris lives in Bloom...

FILE – Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., arrives on stage at the inaugural Make America Healthy Again summit, Nov. 12, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr., File)

EPA promised a Make America Healthy Again agenda. It has yet to materialize, frustrating activists.

By Ali Swenson

July 10, 2026 at 8:37 a.m.

The apparent reversal on release of a formal environmental health agenda is the latest in...

President Donald Trump speaks with reporters in flight on Air Force One after landing at U.S. Air Force Base at RAF Mildenhall, in Suffolk Eastern England, Wednesday, July 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Donald Trump ousts election commission members in latest push to reshape US voting process

By Bill Barrow

July 10, 2026 at 8:34 a.m.

President Donald Trump has ousted members of a bipartisan federal election commission that resisted his...

A man waves an Iranian flag during funeral ceremonies for slain Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and members of his family at Imam Khomeini Mosalla Grand Mosque in Tehran, Iran, Sunday, July 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)

US demands Iran publicly state that the Strait of Hormuz is open and Tehran won’t attack ships anymore

By Michelle L. Price

July 10, 2026 at 4:37 p.m.

The U.S. is demanding that Iran make a public statement saying the Strait of Hormuz...