Bernie Sanders

With new cases of the coronavirus disease known as COVID-19, Illinois public health officials say the question of the virus spreading here is no longer a question of if, but when and how widely. At least two Chicago conventions were canceled, though officials say the risk to most Illinoisans remains low.

Friday was the deadline for major party presidential candidates to try to get on the ballot for Illinois’ upcoming primary election.

 As Chairman of the Democratic Party of Illinois, House Speaker Michael Madigan ran the show for Illinois’ delegation last week at the Democratic National Convention.

Madigan took some time before the convention wrapped up to sit down in Philadelphia with Illinois Public Radio Statehouse Bureau Chief Amanda Vinicky and WBBM radio's Craig Dellimore.

They touch on everything from term limits to Donald Trump, to the state budget and the November election. 

Protests by “Bernie or Bust” delegates to the Democratic National Convention last week put a lot of attention on dissension within the party, but a top Illinois Democrat has a different take.

For the first time … a major party has nominated a woman for President. Hillary Clinton officially became Democrats’ nominee Tuesday night at the party’s national convention in Philadelphia.

State delegations to the convention took turns casting their votes.

When  it wasw Illinois' turn, party chairman Michael Madigan got things started by introducing the with a nod to its Democratic heavyweights, like President Barack Obama. Then Madigan passed off the microphone to Bernie Sanders’ state director Clem Balanoff.

For the first time … a major party has nominated a woman for President. Hillary Clinton officially became Democrats’ nominee Tuesday night at the party’s national convention in Philadelphia.

State delegations to the convention took turns casting their votes.

When  it wasw Illinois' turn, party chairman Michael Madigan got things started by introducing the with a nod to its Democratic heavyweights, like President Barack Obama. Then Madigan passed off the microphone to Bernie Sanders’ state director Clem Balanoff.

Kate Dunn, a mother of three whose oldest son does to a Springfield public school, gun violence is "a primary concern for everybody in the United States." "I feel like it's preventable. It's not necessary," she said. "It's crazy. I mean just .. every day. I hate to even look -- listen, look, watch -- every day it's something worse."Credit Adam RifeEdit | Remove

Hillary Clinton was born and raised in Illinois, and she has the confidence of the state's primary Democratic leaders, but polls show she's at risk of losing the state to Bernie Sanders. She made a final pitch to Illinois voters on the eve of Tuesday's primary, including at a town hall in Springfield.

Presidential candidates are making final swings through Illinois ahead of Tuesday's primary. Amanda Vinicky has a roundup of the weekend campaigning, and a preview of what's still to come.

A week from Tuesday, Illinois voters will have their chance to help determine who is the next President of the United States. Candidates are planning last minute campaign stops here.

Senator Bernie Sanders will be coming to Edwardsville Friday in hopes of riling up supporters in the state. Illinois' primary is on the 15th. Yesterday, we got a call from the Sanders campaign asking if we would talk with his wife, Jane O'Meara Sanders. Fifteen minutes later, she called up the station.

In a tight election, sometimes something as minor as where a name falls on the ballot can make a difference. The order for presidential candidates in Illinois has been determined as long as they all actually remain on the ballot.

Critics say Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders is too liberal, but he's gaining in polls against presumed Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton. On Monday, he took his campaign to Illinois.

In 1964, Sanders graduated from the University of Chicago in a ceremony at the on-campus Rockefeller chapel. Now as a U.S. Senator from Vermont, Sanders returned to students packing the pews to hear him speak.