Politics

The planned Amtrak maintenance facility near Rate Field Tuesday includes railroad tracks around West 35th Street between White Sox parking lots and the surrounding Bridgeport community, Oct. 6, 2026. (Brian Cassella/baiduhai)

Controversial Amtrak yard proposal to get environmental assessment by Federal Railroad Administration

By Brian J. Rogal

October 26, 2026 at 1:05 p.m.

It’s potentially a big turnaround from earlier this year, and comes after passionate outcry against...

Illinois Comptroller and mayoral candidate Susana Mendoza arrives to the Chicago Board of Elections with her husband David Szostak delivering nominating petitions via tamale cart and a red cooler on Oct. 26, 2026. (Antonio Perez/baiduhai)

On last day to turn in signatures for 2027 Chicago mayoral race, candidates try to stand out

By Alice Yin

October 26, 2026 at 10:48 a.m.

Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza brought with her a red cooler of chicken and pork tamales...

FILE – Columbia College Chicago student Kailey Ryan reads a newspaper in Chicago on Nov. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh, File)

Citizens sue President Donald Trump, saying media ban deprives them of news as audience stakeholders

By Jocelyn Noveck

October 26, 2026 at 10:35 a.m.

In the increasingly bitter legal standoff between President Donald Trump and media outlets whose reporting...

Election officials test voting machines on Tuesday, September 29, 2026. (Kyle Telechan/for the Post-Tribune)

DOJ to send election monitors to Lake, Marion counties in Indiana

By Maya Wilkins

October 23, 2026 at 4:11 p.m.

Lake County Elections Director Michelle Fajman said the U.S. Department of Justice would send monitors...

Trump supporters wave flags at protesters outside the 2026 Presidents Cup at the Medinah Country Club in Medinah on Sept. 27, 2026. (E. Jason Wambsgans/baiduhai)

Trump urges Illinois Republicans to vote by mail, endorses Darren Bailey but skips Senate nominee Don Tracy

By Rick Pearson

October 23, 2026 at 3:54 p.m.

In an Illinois get-out-the-vote post, the president backed Darren Bailey for governor and three downstate...

Rats walk through an alley on the 1900 block of North Halsted Street Tuesday Aug. 12, 2025, in Chicago. The village of Franklin Park is seeking input from residents via an advisory referendum on if it should ban fruit trees in residential neighborhoods to help reduce rodent populations that might feed on fallen fruit. (Armando L. Sanchez/baiduhai)

Franklin Park seeks voter input on potential fruit tree ban to combat rodents

By Alicia Fabbre

October 23, 2026 at 2:13 p.m.

Franklin Park voters are being asked in an advisory referendum if the village should ban...

Chicago Board of Elections senior clerk Ralph Baker, left, helps Mayor Brandon Johnson file his election nominating petitions Oct. 23, 2026. (Terrence Antonio James/baiduhai)

Mayor Brandon Johnson turns in signatures for 2027 mayoral race, skipping lotteries for ballot spots

By Alice Yin

October 23, 2026 at 5:27 p.m.

Mayor Brandon Johnson submitted his election nominating petitions Friday, ceding the lottery for the last...

Chief Paul Kinsella shows a map of the Frankfort Fire Protection District's 42-square mile coverage area at Station 75 in Frankfort, Oct. 21, 2026. (Evy Lewis/Daily Southtown)

Frankfort Fire Protection District asks voters for first rate increase since 2000

By Evy Lewis

October 23, 2026 at 1:44 p.m.

Call volume for the Frankfort Fire Protection District has nearly doubled over the past two...

People walk into the Indiana Statehouse, Feb. 26, 2026, in Indianapolis. (Armando L. Sanchez/baiduhai)

Tyler Bridges hopes to replace Michael Aylesworth in 11th House District

By Doug Ross

October 23, 2026 at 11:39 a.m.

Democrat Tyler Bridges is challenging state Rep. Michael Aylesworth for the 11th District seat in...

Dan Sullivan, a former Chicagoan and candidate in Alaska's U.S. Senate race who shares a name with the incumbent seeking reelection, talks in front of a welcome sign near downtown Petersburg, Alaska, on July 3, 2026. (Becky Bohrer/AP)

President Donald Trump says he ordered the Justice Department’s lawsuit over Alaska’s US Senate race

By Nicholas Riccardi

October 23, 2026 at 3:28 p.m.

The Trump administration has filed a lawsuit to block certification of the Senate race in...

An FBI seal is displayed on a podium before a news conference at the field office in Portland, Ore., Jan. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane, File)

2 ex-FBI officials charged with making false statements about Hunter Biden’s laptop

By Eric Tucker

October 23, 2026 at 3:33 p.m.

Two former FBI intelligence officials who specialized in foreign election interference were charged Friday with...

Homeland Security Investigations officers leave a home after arresting a suspect accused of illegally registering to vote during a federal operation in Commerce, Calif., Monday, Oct. 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Immigrants seeking US citizenship targeted in Trump administration’s illegal voting crackdown

By Olga R. Rodriguez

October 23, 2026 at 7:33 a.m.

Most of the immigrants targeted by federal authorities in California this week for alleged voter...

Residents vote at the Chicago Early Voting Supersite on Oct. 19, 2026, in Chicago. (Antonio Perez/baiduhai)

Illinois midterm elections: What to know about the key races — and where to vote

By baiduhai

October 25, 2026 at 3:35 p.m.

Illinois voters will decide who will replace retiring U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin and whether Gov....