Chicago GOP To Launch 'American Idol' Style Search For Candidates
The Chicago Republican Party is kicking off a new effort to attract candidates citywide, and part of it involves an "American Idol-style" vetting process.
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The Chicago Republican Party is kicking off a new effort to attract candidates citywide, and part of it involves an "American Idol-style" vetting process.
Chicago's top cop said Monday the concealed carry legislation approved by state lawmakers last week should have mandated more training before a person can carry a concealed fiream.
Illinois lawmakers have again failed to reach an agreement on how to fix the state's nearly $100 billion pension problem, and bill sponsors for same-sex marriage and gambling expansion also threw in the towel as the clock ran out in Springfield.
The Democrat-controlled Legislature began piecing together a new state budget Tuesday that avoids the steep cuts of recent years and also gave final approval to a historic expansion of Medicaid, as Republicans accused their colleagues across the aisle of having "an insatiable appetite to spend money we don't have."
State lawmakers have passed legislation that would mandate schools that teach sex education in Illinois also would have to give students information about birth control.
The Illinois Senate has passed a measure that would require parents to send their kids to school before their 7th birthday, in a vote that broke down along party lines.
The state's top transportation official would like to slow momentum for a move to increase the top speed limit in Illinois.
Public school administrators told lawmakers Thursday that some local districts would have to raise property taxes if legislators vote to have them cover the cost of teacher pensions.
Labor leaders threatened a lawsuit Wednesday over House Speaker Michael Madigan's pension-reform proposal to lower the retirement benefits of public employees in Illinois, but a committee advanced the plan anyway.
Women who have babies that are the result of rape would have an easier time keeping the alleged rapist out of the child's life under a measure making its way through the Illinois General Assembly.
Activists staged a protest Thursday over Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan's decision to wait until the legislature follows a court order and passes a new concealed carry law, rather than appeal the case to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Governor Quinn says he found this his toughest budget to deliver to Illinois lawmakers, and it's getting criticism from both sides of the aisle, reports WBBM Political Editor Craig Dellimore.
Illinois lawmakers are trying to keep a lid on spending, but a drafting error in a budget plan they approved would allow only $35,000 to run the entire state government for a year.
CBS 2's Walter Jacobson says lawmakers shouldn't cave to the demands of the NRA that Chicago commuters be allowed to carry concealed weapons.
A group of 50 Illinois business leaders and organizations have come out in support of marriage equality in Illinois.
The House sponsor of legislation to legalize same-sex marriage in Illinois said the measure could get a vote "very soon," after the new General Assembly was sworn in this week.
The Illinois government agency that looks into complaints against doctors announced it will lay off investigators starting Tuesday and warned of yearlong delays in physician licensing because the Legislature didn't act to bail out the medical watchdog unit.
It's a dubious distinction for the new class of Illinois lawmakers being sworn in Wednesday in Springfield.
It's hard to believe, but there are some players in the news playing worse than the Fighting Irish.
A coalition of West Side ministers was urging state lawmakers to reject legislation that would legalize same-sex marriage in Illinois, but at least one lawmaker said the ministers' threat of political backlash against lawmakers who vote for gay marriage was nothing but an "empty threat."
A spokesman for President Obama says the former Illinois state lawmaker is urging the General Assembly here to approve gay-marriage legislation, the Sun-Times is reporting.
Gov. Pat Quinn says, when state lawmakers go back to Springfield for their final session before the new legislature takes over, addressing the pension mess has to be their top priority.
Two Illinois lawmakers said Thursday they will seek legislative approval of gay marriage when the General Assembly reconvenes in three weeks, answering Gov. Pat Quinn's hope that he could sign same-sex marital rights into law as early as January.
State lawmakers could attempt to override Gov. Pat Quinn's veto of legislation to expand casino gambling in Illinois during their two-week veto session that started Thursday, but one city that already has a casino says enough is enough.
A pro-business think tank was warning that a legislative proposal to raise the minimum wage in Illinois would do more harm than good.
A Chicago Border Patrol agent is facing federal charges for allegedly sexually assaulting four women at Chicago area hotels while on the job in 2022.
All but one lane of the southbound Stevenson Expressway was blocked during the Tuesday afternoon rush, after a semi-trailer truck caught fire.
An Elmhurst man is being held in custody on murder and armed robbery charges after a woman's body was found in Wadsworth, Illinois, over the weekend.
Chicago police, along with friends and family, are looking for a South Side man who has been missing for two weeks since a car crash in Blue Island, Illinois.
A Culver's is coming to Chicago's South Loop, a real estate broker has confirmed.
Majority Leader John Thune announced that the Senate will vote on a Republican-led measure alongside a Democratic bill to extend expiring tax credits.
President Donald Trump's former attorney in battleground Wisconsin is alleging that a judge presiding over his case and that of two other Trump aides charged with felonies related to the 2020 election is guilty of misconduct and must step aside.
An Indiana State Senate committee advanced a proposed new congressional map after hearings Monday, after months of contentious debate and pressure from the Trump administration.
The Justice Department can release investigative materials from a sex trafficking case against Ghislaine Maxwell, the longtime confidant of Jeffrey Epstein, a federal judge ruled.
The Federal Transit Administration is demanding that the CTA take immediate action to improve safety or risk losing funding.
A condo owner in Country Club Hills says he's forced to sell his home after his condo association failed to reimburse him for repairs to his leaking roof. Edward Hadnott's condo has sat empty since a major roof leak in 2022.
The U.S. stopped minting pennies this week, and some groups have issued a warning about the headaches that can create for some businesses and consumers.
Why is one school in the west Chicago suburb of Lisle paying a water bill three times higher than another? The answer has to do with a private utility company.
The Food and Drug Administration is warning about additional cookware brands that could be leaching lead into your food.
Walgreens said it will close its office space in Chicago's Old Post Office building.
The newest measles vaccination numbers released by Chicago Public Schools shows immunizations are finally moving in the right direction.
Two pregnant Black women recently faced alarming neglect at hospitals in Indiana and Texas, highlighting racial disparities in maternal care.
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker on Tuesday signed a bill aimed at protecting vaccine access in Illinois.
Roseland Community Hospital on Monday celebrated the opening of a new sickle cell treatment clinic.
Consumers with the imported pans should throw them away due to the severe health risks posed by lead, the agency warns.
A Culver's is coming to Chicago's South Loop, a real estate broker has confirmed.
A new vision for passenger rail is on track in southeastern Wisconsin. The MARK Passenger Rail Commission held its inaugural meeting on December 5, 2025, at Racine City Hall.
U.S. Steel says it'll resume making steel slabs at its Granite City Works plant in Illinois amid strengthening demand.
Traffic at O'Hare International Airport is growing faster than expected, and this has Chicago city leaders wanting to make big changes to future construction plans at the airport.
Small Business Saturday was disrupted by the winter storm for many business owners in Chicago, but in the Rogers Park neighborhood, a group of business owners came together to draw customers.
Paramount Skydance's $30 per share offer comes just days after Netflix agreed to buy parts of Warner Bros. in a deal valued at nearly $83 billion.
The nominations for the 2026 Golden Globes have been announced. Here are the nominees.
Landon Wallace, better known as Power 92 radio and Chicago Bulls mixer DJ Commando, died last week.
Thirty-five years after throngs headed to a theater near them to see "Home Alone," you can have a lovely cheese pizza, just for you, like Macaulay Culkin's Kevin McCallister character did.
Frank Gehry was known for designing the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao in Spain and the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles.
Mayor Brandon Johnson and Gov. JB Pritzker are pushing back on the Trump administration's latest threats to withhold federal funding from the CTA unless the mass transit agency meets the federal government's demands for safety changes.
The new law puts several preventative measures in place, including banning immigration arrests at courthouses.
Meteorologist David Yeomans has your 11 a.m. First Alert Weather forecast for Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2025.
Flight deck audio and police video are providing a new look into the night when off-duty airline pilot Joseph Emerson tried to turn off the engines of an Alaska Airlines regional jet while allegedly feeling the effects of so-called "magic mushrooms" he'd eaten two days earlier.
In December of last year, Michael Virgil, 35, was on a cruise to Mexico with his fiancée and 7-year-old son. A lawsuit says while waiting for the family’s room to be ready, Virgil was served 33 drinks within hours, got lost, and ended up being tackled and sedated by security. He died hours later.
Gov. Pritzker signed a slate of legislation Tuesday morning to protect immigrants from "unjust" federal immigration enforcement actions.
A Chicago Border Patrol agent is facing federal charges for allegedly sexually assaulting four women at Chicago area hotels while on the job in 2022.
Viktoriya Petriv and her mom, Roxanne Kovalchuk, cannot get out of their heads the events of that day.
The Federal Transit Administration is demanding that the CTA take immediate action to improve safety or risk losing funding.
All but one lane of the southbound Stevenson Expressway was blocked during the Tuesday afternoon rush, after a semi-trailer truck caught fire.
A Chicago woman battling ALS said she's been struggling just to get a disabled parking space in front of her Bridgeport home.
Days after new Cook County Chief Judge Charles Beach ordered an urgent review of the county's electronic monitoring program, Sheriff Tom Dart said this crisis isn't new, and that he's been warning lawmakers of problems for years.
Charles Beach was sworn in on Monday as Cook County's first new chief judge in 24 years, and takes over amid a political firestorm over what appears to be systemic issues with how accused criminals are being monitored before trial.
Some Chicagoans found out the hard way on Monday that the overnight winter parking ban is in effect.
The electronic monitoring system in Cook County has come under increased scrutiny, after a woman was set on fire in a horrific arson attack on the Blue Line, with critics demanding answers as to why the suspect wasn't already behind bars.
Despite Sunday's loss and losing the top spot in the NFC North, fans said they're confident the Bears will bounce back.
Leo Carlsson scored two goals and rookie Beckett Sennecke had a goal and an assist in the Anaheim Ducks' 7-1 victory over the road-weary Chicago Blackhawks.
The Bulls have lost seven in a row, their most since an eight-game skid in the 2019-20 season.
Chicago faced third-and-1 from the 14 when Kingsley Enagbare stuffed Kyle Monangai for no gain. That set up the game-sealing interception.
The ninth-ranked Fighting Irish responded to getting dropped in the CFP rankings for the second consecutive week by turning down an invitation to play in the Pop-Tarts Bowl in Orlando, Florida.
A man stood charged with attempted murder Tuesday in a shooting involving a Chicago police officer in the Morgan Park neighborhood this past weekend.
A man died after being with multiple gunshot wounds in an alley in Chicago's North Lawndale neighborhood early Tuesday morning.
The Federal Transit Administration is demanding that the CTA take immediate action to improve safety or risk losing funding.
A man has been charged with setting a fire in the apartment building where he lived to cover up the shooting death of his roommate last month in Cicero, Illinois.
A man was charged with impersonating a police officer and other counts after a chain of events that led to gunfire from real police officers in Aurora, Illinois.
