Illinois House Republicans are calling for more transparency and oversight in the state’s budgeting process.

GOP lawmakers were highly critical of how the budget was handled last year, with little input from Republicans and little notice before it was voted upon.

In today’s political climate, it’s nigh impossible to identify any subject that generates consensus across ideological lines. Which makes the City of Chicago’s four public employee pension systems somewhat unique, because virtually everyone agrees they’re in bad shape.

As Illinois continues to lose population, especially in rural areas, smaller communities are exploring ways to attract new residents.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 81 of Illinois’ 102 counties lost population in 2021. While the state’s most populous areas are losing the largest number of residents, population decline is occurring at the fastest rates in Illinois’ more rural areas.

Three months after Mayor Lori Lightfoot chose Bally’s for a lucrative deal to build and operate Chicago’s first casino, the daughter of a contractor expected to help oversee its construction was named to chair Lightfoot’s campaign fund.

Lightfoot announced Bally’s as her pick last May to develop a casino along the Chicago River on the site of the Chicago Tribune’s printing plant, a deal that required Bally’s to make an upfront payment of $40 million to City Hall.

When Chicagoans go to the polls to vote for mayor, there’s a crucial piece of information missing from their ballots: the candidates’ political parties.

Chicago has held nonpartisan elections for mayor since 1999. If no candidate gets 50% plus one vote, the top two head to a runoff a month later, regardless of their political affiliation.