On the 21st: We sat down with Betsy Dirksen Londrigan who is hoping to unseat Republican Congressman Rodney Davis in the 13th Congressional district. Plus, the Irish artistic duo Kennedy Browne joined us to talk about their first US exhibition which is at the Krannert Art Museum. And, we discuss why Chicago has the worst recycling rate of any major metropolitan area in the country. 

On the 21st: We check in on this year’s pumpkin crop with some Illinois farmers. Plus, it’s officially Pumpkin Spice season. We talk about the spice some people love, and others love to hate. And, the Chicago International Film Festival has started. Michael Phillips gives us his picks. But first, we sit down with Congressman Rodney Davis a few weeks before the midterm elections. 

On The 21st: Last night, voters chose the Democratic and Republican candidates that will face off in this November's midterm elections. We break down everything you need to know from races statewide, from the gubernatorial primary, to the attorney general's race, to Congressional House contests across Illinois.

On The 21st: Tomorrow, voters will pick the Democratic and Republican candidates for a variety of elected offices in Illinois, including governor, attorney general, and the House of Representatives. We recap some of the biggest news stories from last week and do some last-minute fact-checking. Plus, some of the most important things you need to know about casting your ballot, whether it's today or tomorrow. And, we air a compilation of our interviews with seven of the gubernatorial candidates.

Apart from the gubernatorial campaigns, the big question nationally is whether Republicans can hold on to Congress. Here in Illinois, several districts are up for grabs. We checked in with reporters from all over the state to give us the rundown of what's going on in their local communities.

We’re a week out from the March 20 primary, and so we wanted to break down one of the most important issues for many of you voting for governor: taxes. Some of the candidates want to create new ones, some of the candidates want to reduce them, and some want to keep them pretty much the same. So before you head into the voting booth, let’s take a listen back to what all 7 of the Democrats and Republicans running for governor had to say. Governor Rauner did not take us up on our invitation to come on the show. But we did link his State of the State address here, which features some of his ideas on tax policy. 

Illinois' 13th Congressional district—which includes all or part of 14 counties stretching from central to southwestern Illinois, including Champaign, Springfield, and Bloomington—is currently represented by Republican Rep. Rodney Davis. He's not facing a primary challenger, but there are five Democrats hoping to unseat him in November. But first, they need to get the most votes in the March 20 primary. 

The 21st interviewed seven of the candidates running for Illinois governor ahead of the primary on March 20: Democratic candidates J.B. Pritzker, Chris Kennedy, Sen. Daniel Biss, Bob Daiber, Tio Hardiman, and Dr. Robert Marshall, along with Gov. Rauner's Republican challenger, Rep. Jeanne Ives. The governor's office did not respond to our repeated requests for an interview.

Eight Democrats and two Republicans are hoping to succeed current Attorney General Lisa Madigan, who is not running for re-election. The 21st recorded conversations with all ten of them ahead of the primary, which is on March 20.

Pick any election in America, and it’s usually Democrats vs. Republicans. But there are also smaller parties like the Greens and the Libertarians, and every year they’re trying to both get their messages out and get their candidates on the ballot. Illinois is a particularly difficult state for third parties, and we spoke about all this and more with representatives from the Libertarian Party of Illinois and the Green Party of Illinois.