Illinois state Sen. Jil Tracy (R-47) on June 1 voted against a fiscal year 2020 budget that was $5.3 billion in the red, increasing state taxes and spending by record amounts.

Illinois state Rep. Randy E. Frese (R-94) on May 31 voted against a fiscal year 2020 budget that was $5.3 billion in the red, increasing state taxes and spending by record amounts.

State Sen. Jil Tracy (R-47) on June 1 voted against a $40 million budget package that included a hidden gem for teachers -- the removal of a 3 percent cap on end-of-career pension spiking for Illinois educators.

State Rep. Randy E. Frese (R-94) on May 31 voted against a $40 million budget package that included a hidden gem for teachers -- the removal of a 3 percent cap on end-of-career pension spiking for Illinois educators.

Illinois state Sen. Jil Tracy (R-47) on May 31 voted against a measure that will bring sweeping changes to the state’s abortion laws.

Illinois state Rep. Randy E. Frese (R-94) on May 28 voted against a measure that will bring sweeping changes to the state’s abortion laws.

Even without the increases in the Illinois gas tax now being proposed by state lawmakers, Illinois has the 10th highest state gas taxes in the nation, according to July 2018 numbers from the Washington-based Tax Foundation.

If a current Senate bill clears the House and is signed into law, Illinois will join three other states and the District of Columbia in soon paying a minimum wage of $15 per hour.

The state legislature adjourned before taking action on Senate Bill 1597, which would require Illinois consumers to pay a 5 cent fee for every single-use paper or plastic bag, but similar proposals are being considered at the county and local levels.

Speaker Michael Madigan (D-Chicago) contributed $21.1 million to 30 state House races this election cycle, including $3,445,351 to 22 fellow Democrats in the week leading up to Tuesday’s general election.

Republican Norine Hammond has been declared the winner in the 93rd House District against Democrat John Curtis.

Republican Randy Frese has been declared the winner in the 94th House District against Democrat Richard Cramsey.

Democrat Michael Frerichs has been declared the winner in the Illinois State Treasurer's race against Republican Jim Dodge.

Democrat Susana Mendoza has won the state Comptroller race against Republican Darlene Senger.

Democrat Jesse White has won the Secretary of State race against Republican Jason Helland.

Democrat Kwame Raoul won the Attorney General's race after Republican candidate Erika Harold conceded the race.

Democrat J.B. Pritzker won the gubernatorial race after Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner conceded the race Tuesday night.

The political arm of Illinois’ largest abortion provider, Planned Parenthood, has already spent nearly $600,000 this year across 24 competitive state House and Senate races, according to filings with the Illinois State Board of Elections (ISBE).

Among Illinois counties, Boone, Montgomery and Bond had the highest percentage of property owners with mortgages who owe at least 25 percent more on their loans than their property is worth, according to an analysis by ATTOM Data Solutions looking at home equity at the end of the first quarter.

Illinois state government leaders say they will spend a record $38.5 billion and borrow an estimated $11.5 billion over the next year, according to a fiscal year 2019 budget plan approved by Gov. Bruce Rauner.