SARA BURNETT

Associated Press

Sara is a political reporter based in Chicago.
Buttigieg enters biggest stage of career at pivotal moment
Pete Buttigieg has been the early darling of the 2020 Democratic presidential contest. But the idea of Mayor Pete, a 37-year-old wunderkind some call the antidote to President Donald Trump, has met the reality of Mayor Pete Buttigieg, the head of a segregated city where racial tensions reignited aft
 
LGBT donors helping Pete Buttigieg defy 2020 expectations
Financial support from the LGBT community has helped Pete Buttigieg’s 2020 presidential campaign defy expectations by raking in more than $7 million in just over two months.
 
Lightfoot’s win stirs hope for change in a divided Chicago
Lori Lightfoot’s victory in the Chicago mayor’s race signaled hope among voters that the nation’s third-largest city may someday move beyond long-entrenched divides, racial and otherwise.
 
New face and longtime politician vying for Chicago mayor
Either candidate for Chicago mayor would make history as the city’s first black, female mayor. Former prosecutor Lori Lightfoot and Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle face off Tuesday in the race to replace Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who isn’t seeking a third term.
 
Campaign roundup: Indiana mayor talks marriage, millennials
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Democratic presidential hopeful Pete Buttigieg told voters Saturday that his marriage to his husband exists “by the grace of a single vote on the U.S.
 
Minnesota’s Klobuchar all-in on Iowa as 2020 field grows
Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar is going all-in on Iowa as she tries to become the 2020 Democratic presidential nominee. Klobuchar returns to the leadoff caucus state this weekend for a flurry of stops.
 
Election results offer more evidence of urban-rural divide
Democrats did what was once unthinkable when they flipped two suburban Chicago House districts that had been held by Republicans pretty much since World War II.
 
GOP veteran struggles to adjust as seat suddenly isn’t safe
After more than a decade representing a reliably Republican suburban Chicago district, Rep. Peter Roskam is suddenly among the most endangered House Republicans seeking re-election.
 
Next Chicago mayor to confront city divided by race, class
The next mayor of Chicago will take over a city that is deeply divided by race and class, a decades-long problem that critics say only grew more pronounced during Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s two terms in office.
 
Supreme Court hands Illinois governor a rare win over unions
The Supreme Court’s ruling in an Illinois labor case gave Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner a rare victory in his campaign to weaken public-worker unions and something to tout in a tough re-election battle.
 
Musk company to build Chicago-to-O’Hare express transport
Entrepreneur Elon Musk says a high-speed transportation system that will whisk people between downtown Chicago and O’Hare International Airport at speeds of up to 150 mph could be operational in about three years.
 
Rauner signs state budget, his 1st as Illinois governor
Gov. Bruce Rauner has signed Illinois’ new state budget, the first full-year spending plan he’s enacted since taking office in 2015.
 
Democrats giddy about odds of retaking Illinois’ top job
Democrats are giddy following Illinois’ primary about their chances of reclaiming the governor’s office from a GOP incumbent who barely survived his own nomination fight. Billionaire J.B.
 
Rep. Lipinski of Illinois narrowly wins Democratic primary
Rep. Dan Lipinski of Illinois, one of the most conservative Democrats in Congress, has narrowly defeated a progressive newcomer who argued the congressman’s views no longer reflect the Chicago-area district he has represented for seven terms.
 
Early voting for Illinois primary far exceeds last midterm
The number of Illinois voters casting early ballots for the Illinois primary has far exceeded the number who voted early four years ago.
 
Years later, Blagojevich still creates trouble for Democrats
A decade after the FBI began secretly recording then-Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s profanity-laced conversations, the investigation that sent him to prison is still causing political problems for some Democrats.
 
Illinois candidate wiretapped discussing black politicians
Newly released FBI wiretaps captured Democratic Illinois governor candidate J.B. Pritzker telling then-Gov. Rod Blagojevich that a state lawmaker was the “least offensive” African-American he could appoint to a Senate seat.
 
Illinois governor candidate stands by ad blasted as racist
A Republican lawmaker trying to unseat Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner is standing by a campaign ad that’s being blasted as racist and homophobic. State Rep.
 
Illinois governor’s race could be costliest in US history
The 2018 Illinois governor’s race is on pace to be the most expensive in U.S. history, propelled by a wealthy Republican incumbent and a billionaire Democrat. J.B.
 
Illinois governor signs sweeping school funding changes
Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner on Thursday signed into law sweeping changes to the way the state funds schools, calling it a historic day that will bring “more equality, more fairness and better opportunity for all the students of Illinois.”
 
Illinois Senate approves school funding overhaul
The Illinois Senate on Tuesday approved a school funding overhaul that supporters hailed as “historic,” saying it will increase aid to all of the state’s more than 800 districts and eliminate large disparities between rich and poor schools.
 
Housing crisis sparks fears of an end for Illinois town
A government plan to tear down a public housing complex in the southern Illinois town of Cairo has sent almost 200 families searching for new homes. It’s also sparked fears the city could come to an end.
 
Will suburban mayor pay political price for backing Trump?
A longtime suburban Chicago mayor is facing the fight of his career after he angered some residents by hosting a September fundraiser for Donald Trump. Roger Claar (KLAIR) has been mayor of Bolingbrook for 31 years.
 
Thousands brave cold for tickets to Obama farewell speech
Thousands of people have lined up in frigid temperatures hoping for tickets to President Barack Obama’s farewell speech in his hometown of Chicago.
 
At Senate debate, Kirk says he’s ‘not a racist’
Republican U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk has made a final pitch to keep his U.S. Senate seat. He kicked off a debate with Democratic U.S. Rep. Tammy Duckworth Friday by again apologizing for mocking her immigrant background and her family’s military service.
 
DIVIDED AMERICA: In recovery, many poor schools left behind
In the years following the 2008 financial crisis, school districts serving poor communities generally have been hit harder than more affluent districts, according to an Associated Press analysis of local, state and federal education spending.
 
2 vulnerable GOP incumbents break with Trump on immigration
Two Illinois Republicans considered among the nation’s most vulnerable congressional incumbents are breaking from their party and Donald Trump to advocate for new laws that would include a path to citizenship for people living in the country illegally.
 
Judge denies Blagojevich’s bid to lighten 14-year sentence
A federal judge has refused to lighten Rod Blagojevich’s original 14-year prison sentence for corruption, rejecting pleas for leniency by the now white-haired former Illinois governor.
 
Illinois impasse sparks fears of the unthinkable: No school
School officials in Illinois are starting to worry that lawmakers’ nearly yearlong fight over a state budget could force some districts to close their doors.
 
In Chicago, Sanders found his place in civil rights movement
As Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton jockey for support from black and Latino voters, much of the debate has centered around which candidate has a stronger record of fighting for minorities.
 
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