Illinois
Suburban Rep. Robin Kelly jumps into U.S. Senate race
Rep. Robin Kelly, who has represented parts of the south suburbs for more than a decade, is joining the race to become Illinois’ next senator.
Kelly, who was first elected to Congress in 2013, is the second Democrat to officially announce their candidacy to replace Sen. Dick Durbin, who announced he will not seek reelection in 2026.
In her first interview since her announcement, Kelly told NBC Chicago that her work at every level of government, local to federal, makes her the best candidate for the job.
“My district right now is urban, suburban and rural, so I work in a district that definitely is the state of Illinois, and I’ve worked statewide before,” she said. “I know people from the bottom of the state, to the top of the state, east to west.”
Kelly pointed to her work in the healthcare realm as one of her proudest achievements in Congress, along with her efforts to establish the Pullman National Historical Park.
“It was my legislation that extended postpartum coverage for moms from 60 days to a year,” she said. “I’m (also) really proud of Pullman becoming a national park. You can see the growth, the economic development (and) not saying I did it all by myself, but it’s legislation I’m really proud of.”
Facing Kelly will be Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton, who threw her hat into the ring shortly after Durbin announced he would not seek reelection. Stratton already has big-name support from Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, and Kelly is undeterred by the challenge of going up against the state’s top Democrat.
“I don’t think anyone is shocked the governor endorsed his lieutenant governor. I think that should be expected,” she said. “I’m hoping that people take a look at all of us that are running. I’ve been an effective leader. I’m a fighter. I’ve been standing up to Donald Trump just in these last three months, with my town hall meetings, with my face-to-face or my teletown hall meetings. I mean, the proof is in the pudding of the work I’ve done.”
When asked about a report from NBC 5 Political Reporter Mary Ann Ahern that Pritzker’s political team is trying to dissuade contenders from challenging Stratton in the primary, Kelly was blunt.
“I believe that everyone has the right to run,” she said. “That’s why I’m running, and I feel like I have what it takes to run, whether someone wants me to run or not.”
Sources have confirmed to NBC Chicago that Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s political team is using its muscle to deter other Democrats from a Senate run, as Mary Ann Ahern reports.
Kelly said she would aim to enact more healthcare reform if elected to the Senate, and would also pursue other bills on a host of other topics.
“I look at gun violence prevention as a public health crisis,” she said. “I definitely would want to continue my work on because I’ve done so much.”
Other candidates are expected to throw their hats into the ring in coming weeks. There has been talk of Kelly’s fellow Congresswoman Lauren Underwood jumping into the race, along with Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, who has stacked up an impressive fundraising haul as he mulls a run.
On the Republican side, downstate Rep. Darin LaHood is viewed as a potential contender as he view to become the GOP’s first senator in the state since former Sen. Mark Kirk was defeated by Tammy Duckworth in 2016.
Illinois’ primary will take place in March 2026.
Illinois
4 shot in Rockford, suspect in custody; police ask public to avoid area
Saturday, July 18, 2026 11:43AM
ROCKFORD, Ill. (WLS) — Rockford police are investigating a quadruple shooting on Saturday.
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The shooting happened near Island and Clifton Avenues, police said.
Police said four people were shot. All injuries appeared to be non-life-threatening, police said.
The shooting suspect was in police custody.
No other information was immediately available.
The public is asked to avoid the area as they continue to investigate.
Copyright © 2026 WLS-TV. All Rights Reserved.
Illinois
Produce Recall Issued In Parasite Outbreak Hitting IL
A number of Taco Bell locations have posted signs announcing they are “currently unable to sell Lettuce, Cilantro Onion, Pico de Gallo, and Guacamole due to a nationwide recall,” according to Detroit-area news radio outlet WWJ.
Taco Bell told the Post it would keep monitoring the situation and follow authorities’ guidance.
Taco Bell Lettuce Linked To Growing MI Parasite Outbreak: FDA
“Public health officials have not confirmed a link to Taco Bell or any specific ingredient, supplier, restaurant or retailer,” the company told the Post. “While authorities continue their broader review, Taco Bell has voluntarily and temporarily removed limited ingredients at select restaurants as a precautionary measure.”
In Michigan, where cases have been concentrated, media reports said notices were posted at some Detroit-area Taco Bell restaurants last week telling customers the chain was “currently unable to sell Lettuce, Cilantro-Onion, Pico de Gallo, and Guacamole due to a nationwide recall.”
Illinois
Illinois GOP trails badly in midterm cash
The Illinois Republican Party filed its quarterly campaign finance report on the July 15 deadline. The party reported having just $223K in the bank. The next day, the party sent a letter to the Illinois State Board of Elections saying they were “reconciling” their records after a leadership change, and then noted that their actual end balance was $101K higher than it had reported the day before.
But that bit of found money was basically the end of the “good news” for the GOP last week.
Republicans no longer have a pet billionaire. Bruce Rauner and Ken Griffin have fled the state. The legions of wealthy business titans who once contributed and raised money have either retired to sunnier climes or passed away. Several prominent party members have publicly shunned labor unions and their hefty political war chests, although the state GOP legislative leaders have at least tried to rebuild ties to trade unions and even the Illinois Education Association. But the heavily gerrymandered legislative map combined with the current political climate means they’ll mostly receive scraps.
And, yes, the House Democrats are struggling this month with scandals, including a state representative who resigned under pressure and another who was indicted. I’m not trying to downplay that at all. But Democrats have the national political environment, the local infrastructure and tons of cash behind them. The Republicans have little to none of that.
The GOP’s gubernatorial candidate, Darren Bailey, raised $1.3 million in the second quarter, which ended June 30. That sounds like a lot, but he spent almost all of that on direct mail fundraising costs. The huge expenditures do give him a prospect list for future fundraising, but he ended the quarter with a mere $128K in the bank. That was still a whole lot more than the rest of the statewide ticket.
Attorney General nominee Bob Fioretti, a perennial candidate, raised $31K, spent $39K and had $28K on hand at the end of the quarter along with almost $15K in recent debt. Secretary of State candidate Diane Harris raised $6K, spent a bit over $4K and had a paltry $1,816.42 in the bank. Treasurer candidate Max Solomon, who ran as a write-in during the primary because the party failed to recruit anyone, raised less than $3K, reported no spending and ended the quarter with less than $8K. Comptroller candidate Bryan Drew raised $30K and received $47K in in-kind contributions from a company owned, ironically, by independent gubernatorial candidate Collin Corbett, spent less than $3K, ended with $54K and had $25K in debt from earlier this year.
Man, that’s just downright pathetic.
But I suppose it doesn’t really matter anyway unless we see a massive sea-change in national opinion in the coming months or the federal government finds a way to not certify certain election results. Regardless of where individual candidates are at this moment, they’ll have the money to compete. Unlike the Republicans, the Dems do have a pet billionaire (JB Pritzker) and, I assume eventually for most of them, organized labor.
The Republican legislative leaders have tried to scrape and claw as much as they can, but they’re vastly outgunned. Senate Republican Leader John Curran raised just $75K in the second quarter. He spent $71K and reported having a bit more than $3 million in the bank. His caucus committee reported having $160K in the bank.
Leader Curran has three Republican-held districts to defend in the Chicago media market that have all trended Democratic in the last three cycles. Depending how bad things get, he could be defending a couple, two or three more.
The Senate Democrats have a ton of money to do whatever they want. Senate President Don Harmon has about $20 million in his personal campaign account and $1.7 million in his caucus account.
Over in the House, Republican Leader Tony McCombie has at least four Democratic-trending or swingy districts to defend and just $1.3 million in her personal campaign account and another $363K in her caucus account so far.
In contrast, House Speaker Chris Welch had $11.4 million in his personal account and $1.2 million in his caucus account. Like Senate President Harmon, he has more than enough money already, but more is never enough when there’s so much out there, so those numbers will likely rise by November.
Rich Miller also publishes Capitol Fax, a daily political newsletter, and CapitolFax.com.
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