News, interviews, candidate debate coverage, and election resources for informed voters from WILL and other public media.
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A group of Champaign-Urbana residents ferried University of Illinois students to polling places off campus on Tuesday. The effort came together after reports of long lines at the campus polling place inside the Illini Union.
Illinois election officials say there’s been a huge spike in early voting this year. But it’s not yet clear just what that means.
On The 21st: Here’s a quick civics quiz for you. You aren’t registered yet. You don’t speak English. You have a felony conviction. You can’t vote, right? Wrong! We tackle common voting misconceptions. And, voting is for all US citizens but the process can be more challenging if you have a disability, or if you have trouble reading English. What systems are in place to make sure everyone can vote? And, tomorrow is Election Day and many voters are turning out for the very first time, including new citizens.
The Sangamon county clerk has recruited about 80 high school students to serve as judges and registrars on election day.
A referendum on Tuesday’s ballot in Rantoul would have village board members elected from districts, instead of at-large.
In Danville, an elected mayor runs the city government day to day, and the city council sets laws and policies. That form of government is called mayor-aldermanic or mayor-council government. But a referendum on Tuesday’s ballot would have the city council hire a professional manager to run Danville’s government, and the mayor’s job would become a part-time one.
In one respect, this is a typical midterm election — a race shaped as a referendum on the president and the party in power. But there are so many ways in which this election is anything but typical. We've seen a surge in first-time candidates, especially women and minorities. In the past several midterms, the party in power was relatively complacent compared with the party hoping to be in power. Heading into Election Day, Democrats have an enthusiasm edge, but Republicans have been getting steadily amped up, too.
U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois joined Democratic congressional candidate Betsy Dirksen Londrigan for a visit to the University of Illinois campus on Friday. Speaking to students on the Quad outside of the Illini Union, Durbin and Londrigan emphasized the importance of voting in the upcoming midterm election on Nov. 6.
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Election Day is November 6. Give us 15 minutes (or so) and you'll hear snippets of all the interviews that The 21st has done with the candidates for statewide office: Governor, Attorney General, Treasurer and Comptroller.
Governor Bruce Rauner is a Republican running for his second term in office. He recently spoke with Niala Boodhoo, host of The 21st, about his candidacy.
