Complete coverage of the local and national primary and general election, including results, analysis and voter resources to keep Chicago voters informed.
Illinois
Illinois Democrats already hold a supermajority of state House seats. They want more.
Democrats already hold a great deal of political power in Illinois.
In addition to every constitutional office — from the governor to the comptroller — being occupied by a Democrat from Chicago, the legislative body in Springfield is overwhelmingly blue.
All 118 state House seats are up for grabs this year. Currently, Democrats hold 78 — or two-thirds — of them, well past the 60% majority needed to pass a bill out of the chamber.
But even with that comfortable margin, the Democratic Party of Illinois wants more.
Lisa Hernandez, chair of the Democratic Party of Illinois, said they have spent the past few months knocking on doors, hosting public town halls and running phone banking events in an attempt to get out in front of voters across the state.
“The momentum, the excitement, the kind of feedback I’m getting, I can’t help but tell you that it looks good in Illinois,” Hernandez said.
The Cicero Democrat has served in the Illinois House as a state representative since 2007. She believes state Republicans have, over the years, fallen out of touch with voters.
“The Republican view has been consistent on just dividing,” Hernandez. “The hatred that has been spread, it has not stopped … Illinois is not going to tolerate that.”
Hernandez said Democrats are eyeing six Republican-held House seats across the state in the hopes of flipping them this November. Last week, House Speaker Chris Welch, D-Hillside, tweeted, “In 2022, we voted blue. In 2024, we want more.”
“We are about keeping and preserving our democratic values,” Hernandez said. “The fight is there when it comes to women’s rights, working families’ [rights].”
One of the six seats Democrats hope to flip is the 114th District, which covers East St. Louis and some of the rural areas surrounding it. The district is currently held by Rep. Kevin Schmidt, R-Millstadt. His challenger, Democrat LaToya Greenwood, previously held that seat for six years.
She lost to Schmidt in 2022 by more than 2,000 votes.
“I remember just trying to understand, actually, what happened that next day,” Greenwood said. “Where did I go wrong?”
Greenwood said she was caught off guard because the area had been occupied by a Democrat for many years. A couple of weeks before the 2022 election, the East St. Louis Branch NAACP filed a federal lawsuit against the state, blocking the newly drawn legislative maps from taking effect. They argued East St. Louis’ Black population would be split up into multiple districts, diluting their vote. A three-judge federal panel rejected that argument three months later.
East St. Louis’ population is 95% Black. Greenwood, who is Black and from East St. Louis, said Schmidt just doesn’t understand the community.
“He hasn’t voted for a budget that would bring resources to my community or the Metro East area,” Greenwood said. “I believe in representing the least of those amongst us — and by representing the least of those amongst us, we lift up all of us in the process.”
Schmidt is a white chiropractor from Millstadt, a village of about 4,000 people 13 miles south of East St. Louis. He said he’s not worried about losing to Greenwood.
“She was in office, I believe, for three terms, and never lifted a finger as far as listening to constituents in the entire district,” Schmidt said.
But he has his work cut out for him to get reelected. Greenwood has enjoyed a massive fundraising advantage over Schmidt.
This is a disadvantage House Minority Leader Tony McCombie, R-Savanna, said is true for most Republicans in down-ballot races across Illinois. This is because some of their big donors, like hedge fund billionaire Ken Griffin and former Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner, have left the state.
“We’re not going to get a late surprise here in October from a million-dollar donor,” McCombie said.
Her party faces an uphill battle in the quest to get more seats. Part of that is because, she argues, the legislative maps drawn in 2022 are gerrymandered to the Democrats’ favor.
So while the Democrats are targeting six incumbent Republicans for defeat next month to expand their supermajority even more, the Illinois GOP is taking the long view, trying to inch its way back to power.
“We’re not going to say we’re going to become the majority party,” McCombie said. “We’re going to do this one cycle at a time, bit by bit, and get us closer to the map in the 10-year time.”
Mawa Iqbal covers Illinois state government and politics for WBEZ.
Illinois
Bret Bielema continues rare run with the Illinois football program
It has been a pretty special season thus far for the Illinois football team despite the result of the last contest.
If you are judging the 2024 Illini season based on the last game against Oregon, you should probably adjust your expectations a bit. The Ducks have a great program with national title aspirations. Illinois isn’t quite there yet.
That is okay, though. No one thought the Illini would compete for a national championship. Sure, two losses are never a good thing, but they are against two of the top three teams in the country. Sitting a 6-2 overall and 3-2 in the Big Ten is better than what 99.9% of people thought for this team in 2024.
I have raved about what Bret Bielema has done with the Orange and Blue. This program was completely lost before he entered the picture. The turnaround has been impressive.
Moreover, you know that bottom. You know the floor for Illinois is 5-7 and, in the past, that would have been a decent season. Now that is the worst-case scenario.
Bielema has put Illinois in this position. It is called being competitive and a serious program. Another element Illinois fans need to get used to is the AP Top 25.
Since the turn of the century, Illinois has been ranked in just seven seasons. That is an ugly statistic. Bielema owns two of the seven seasons, and he has only been our coach for four years.
To take that stat further, Bielema has Illinois still in the AP Top 25. We have been ranked in the AP Top 25 for seven straight weeks. The last time an Illini team was ranked seven straight weeks in the AP Top 25 in a season was in 2001. It has been 23 years.
For some of us, the 2001 season doesn’t seem that long ago because we experienced that great run. But if you think about it, anyone who is 23 years old or younger wasn’t even alive for that season, let alone have any memory of the Kurt Kittner era.
My hope is that there will be a few more similarities between the 2024 season and the 2001 campaign.
We have already established the seven straight weeks of being in the AP Top 25. This season, Illinois has beaten three ranked opponents, No. 19 Kansas, No. 22 Nebraska, and No. 24 Michigan. In that 2001 campaign, the Illini also beat three ranked opponents, No. 25 Louisville, No. 20 Purdue, and No. 25 Ohio State.
In 1999, Illinois had a Cinderella season when the program won eight games out of nowhere. We managed to be ranked that season but followed it up with a 2000 season that had us win five games. The 2001 season followed with 10 victories.
In 2022, Illinois came out of nowhere to win eight games and cracked the AP Top 25. Following that season, in 2023, the Illini won five games. Through eight games in 2024, Illinois is 6-2 and has a chance to win 10 games.
Bielema has Illinois football looking good and playing at a level we haven’t seen in over two decades. Being ranked in the AP Top 25 for seven straight weeks is pretty special. Hopefully, we can finish the season strong and get to that 10-win mark.
Illinois
Illinois High School Football Playoffs: Latest scores, bracket updates
High school football playoffs have arrived across the state of Illinois, with first-round games set for Friday, Nov. 1 and Saturday, Nov. 2.
On3 is tracking scores across the Land of Lincoln as 256 teams enter the postseason with one goal in mind: hoisting the state championship trophy in a few weeks.
The On3 Massey Ratings — which were officially used during the BCS era and have generated college high school sports team rankings since 1995 — rank sports teams by analyzing game outcomes, strength of schedule and margin of victory.
CLICK HERE to watch Illinois high school football playoffs games on NFHS Network now!
Class 8A Bracket
Niles West —
Lincoln-Way East —
Minooka —
Chicago Taft —
Chicago Curie —
Glenbard East —
Sandburg —
Stevenson —
Huntley —
West Aurora —
Maine South —
Naperville North —
Glenbrook South —
Marist —
Belleville East —
Loyola —
Joliet West —
Lyons —
Plainfield South —
Downers Grove South —
Schaumburg —
Naperville Central —
Tinley Park Andrew —
Fremd —
Waubonsie Valley —
Oswego —
Edwardsville —
Elmhurst York —
Warren Township —
Palatine —
South Elgin —
Barrington —
Class 7A Bracket
Kenwood —
Whitney Young —
Bradley-Bourbonnais —
Algonquin Jacobs —
Hoffman Estates —
Lincoln Park —
Lincoln-Way Central —
Maine West —
Collinsville —
Batavia —
Lincoln-Way West —
Pekin —
Wheaton Warrenville South —
Downers Grove North —
Brother Rice —
Fenwick —
Argo —
Quincy —
Addison Trail —
Moline —
Willowbrook —
Rockton Hononegah —
Guilford —
St. Rita —
Rolling Meadows —
St. Charles North —
Chicago Mount Carmel —
Harlem —
West Chicago —
Normal Community —
Hersey —
Prospect —
Class 6A Bracket
Senn —
Cary-Grove —
Grayslake —
Antioch —
Kaneland —
Belvidere North —
Fenton —
Wauconda —
Deerfield —
Libertyville —
Mather —
Lake Forest —
Amundsen —
Geneva —
Chicago Grant —
Burlington Central —
Springfield —
East St. Louis —
Simeon —
Normal West —
Oak Forest —
Kennedy —
Crete-Monee —
Glenwood —
Dunlap —
Oak Lawn Richards —
Shepard —
Washington —
Glenbard South —
Kankakee —
Lemont —
Bloomington —
Class 5A Bracket
Chicago Bulls College Prep —
Sycamore —
Westinghouse —
Prosser —
Sterling —
St. Francis —
Goode —
Prairie Ridge —
Marmion —
Rochelle —
Perspectives —
Benet —
Payton —
Nazareth —
Freeport —
Woodstock North —
Tinley Park —
Morgan Park —
Metamora —
Centralia —
Morris —
Troy Triad —
Marion —
Highland —
Hillcrest —
Peoria —
T.F. North —
Corliss —
Sacred Heart-Griffin —
Mahomet-Seymour —
Jacksonville —
Joliet Catholic —
Class 4A Bracket
Geneseo —
Sullivan —
DePaul —
Dyett —
Sandwich —
Wheaton Academy —
St. Laurence —
Richmond-Burton —
Boylan —
South Shore —
Johnsburg —
Coal City —
Marengo —
Dixon —
Clemente —
Chicago Ag. Science —
Harrisburg —
Breese Central —
Murphysboro —
Macomb —
Notre Dame —
Rochester —
Mt. Zion —
Carterville —
Kewanee —
Richland County —
Normal University —
Manteno —
Taylorville —
Waterloo —
Columbia —
Cahokia —
Class 3A Bracket
Prairie Central —
Byron —
Montini —
North Lawndale —
Oregon —
Princeton —
Chicago King —
Marshall —
Stillman Valley —
Wilmington —
Peotone —
Eureka —
Genoa-Kingston —
Pecatonica —
Paxton-Buckley-Loda —
Monmouth-Roseville —
West Frankfort —
St. Joseph-Ogden —
Tolono Unity —
Roxana —
Olympia —
Nashville —
Fairfield —
Greenville —
Mt. Carmel —
Sullivan-Okaw Valley —
Benton —
New Berlin —
Carlinville —
Williamsville —
DuQuoin —
Monticello —
Class 2A Bracket
Deer Creek-Mackinaw —
Farmington —
Pearl City —
Rockridge —
Oakwood —
Elmwood —
Dwight —
Momence —
Erie-Prophetstown —
Bismarck-Henning —
El Paso-Gridley —
Seneca —
Bloomington Central Catholic —
Downs Tri-Valley —
Illini West —
Chicago Christian —
Red Bud —
Johnston City —
Carmi White —
Warrensburg-Latham —
Shelbyville —
Pana —
Sangamon Valley —
Vandalia —
Decatur St. Teresa —
Maroa-Forsyth —
Westville —
Chester —
Flora —
Quincy Notre Dame —
North Mac —
ALAH —
Class 1A Bracket
Aurora Christian —
Le Roy —
Rockford Lutheran —
Annawan-Wethersfield —
Ottawa Marquette —
Rushville-Industry —
Galena —
Stark County —
Clifton Central —
Lena-Winslow —
Stockton —
Princeville —
Salt Fork —
Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley —
Chicago Hope —
Sterling Newman —
Dupo —
Belleville Althoff —
Carrollton —
West Central —
Jacksonville Routt —
Casey-Westfield —
Brown County —
Greenfield —
Moweaqua Central A&M —
Hardin Calhoun —
Red Hill —
Sesser-Valler —
Nokomis —
Camp Point Central —
Tuscola —
Toledo Cumberland —
Illinois
In Illinois, a support network helps undocumented students find paths to college
On a recent school night at Mansueto High School in Chicago’s Back of the Yards neighborhood, college recruiters from around Illinois made their pitch to an unlikely audience — one whose members have every reason to believe that college is not for them. The event was the sixth annual college fair hosted by the Noble Schools charter network specifically for undocumented students.
“It’s very welcoming, because the universities are like, ‘Yes, come to us, we got you. We’ll help you pay for this. We’ll give you scholarships. We’ll build this club,’” said Brisa Angel, a college counselor, as she watched her students talk to recruiters. “It’s one thing to see it on a sheet: ‘Okay, these are your options.’ And a whole other thing is walking into a fair and talking to people who are like, ‘Yeah, we have these resources.’”
Kevin Guzman, a student at ITW David Speer Academy on Chicago’s West Side, said that before the event, he doubted college was a possibility for him because of his immigration status.
“I was originally going to do the military, because I thought that was going to be the easy way out. … I was gonna get my citizenship, and I was gonna get a whole bunch of money,” Guzman said. “Now I’m looking at these colleges out here, and I’m like, ‘Okay, maybe, maybe there’s a chance for me.’”
For years, undocumented students have been told in big and little ways that they do not belong in college. They do not have access to federal financial aid and, in most states, have to pay out-of-state tuition rates without the help of state grants.
But in Illinois, undocumented students have a better shot at getting into and paying for college. The state is one of 19 where undocumented students can apply for state funding and one of 25 where they pay in-state tuition rates.
Just as important is the network of adults working overtime to help these students navigate a maze of paperwork and find a campus where they can get the support they need to succeed. That network includes Angel, who was once an undocumented high schooler with college dreams.
“I didn’t know what it meant to really be undocumented until I came to apply to college,” Angel said about the hurdles she had to overcome to access higher education. “That was actually really terrifying, because I was like, ‘Oh my goodness, what am I going to do with my life?’ ”
Angel said her college counselor stepped in and helped her submit applications to 42 colleges.
“She was like, ‘I don’t know what it means to be undocumented, but I got you,’” Angel said. “She basically held my hand and dragged me across, and she was like, ‘You’re not gonna give up. You’re not gonna give up.’”
Now Angel is paying it forward. Three months ago, she became a college counselor at ITW David Speer Academy, the high school she attended. She wants younger generations of students to have college options too, whether or not they have legal immigration status.
Her efforts come as tuition costs and student debt are rising and more Americans are questioning the value of college. A poll published by Gallup in July found that nearly one-third of Americans have little to no confidence in higher education.
But the work of Angel and advocates for undocumented students across the state is a rejection of skepticism of college — from one of the communities with the least access to it.
“College is not the only pathway to be successful. That is true,” said Aidé Acosta, chief college advisor for the Noble network. “But are we telling all kids that? Or are we only telling Black and brown kids that? Because I refuse to revive gendered and racialized tropes about our communities, that college is not possible for them.”
Acosta, who was once undocumented, said her parents did not have college degrees and had to work long hours at physically exhausting jobs. She said they wanted something different for her.
“We often talk to students who are just finding out for the first time what their status means and feel hopeless,” she said. “And I always remind them that education is the one thing … that nobody will take away from you, no matter where you find yourself in life, in the world.”
It’s something students can hold onto, she said, when there is so much — including their legal status in this country — that is not within their grasp.
Lisa Kurian Philip covers higher education for WBEZ, in partnership with Open Campus. Follow her on Twitter @LAPhilip.
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