Illinois Public Media

Politics

General Election 2026 - Voter Guide with IPM News and NPR logos

General Election 2026 - Voter Guide

Election Day is Tuesday, with voters across Illinois set to decide a wide range of local, statewide and federal contests. Illinois Public Media’s Voter Guide provides candidate information, ballot details and reporting on the issues at stake to help you navigate the election with confidence.

Latest News

IPM Newsroom

Crime and Punishment in America Lead Up (11.2 - 11.16)

Crime and Punishment in America, from Executive Producers Ken Burns and Sam Pollard and directed by Lynn Novick, premieres Monday, November 16 at 7:00 PM Central Click here to watch the trailer
Evening Concert

The Evening Concert on Illinois Classical

Music by Beethoven, Mussorgsky, Liszt, Korngold, Elgar, John Williams, and others. 
Dialogue
Eight local high school students co-host and help produce series on the issues shaping their lives

Illinois Soul, part of Illinois Public Media, Launches Dialogue: Next Gen, a New Video Podcast Made by Teens, for Teens

Eight local high school students co-host and help produce series on the issues shaping their lives.
The 21st Show
a photo portrait of Lindsey Cormack, a white woman with brown hair wearing a back, V-neck top; and the cover of the book How to Raise a Citizen, which features a handful of small blue and yellow stars scattered across a beige background

Why it’s up to parents to raise informed citizens

Civic education is an essential part of democracy. But political scientist Lindsey Cormack argues American schools are not up to the task — which means parents have to take…
The 21st Show
a photo montage including Dickstein, a white man in a red sweater standing in front of a tree, and White, also a white man, posing in a suit and tie in front of a window; also in the graphic are the cover for the History This Week podcast (which is a black box with the gold

Why we’re still not done with Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln is often said to be the subject of more books than anyone except Jesus. So what's left to say about the 16th president?Plenty, according to Jonathan W. White,…
The 21st Show
a graphic featuring the 21st Show logo with three inset photos of the candidates. Stratton is a Black woman wearing a pink blazer over a black blouse; Tracy is a white man wearing a seersucker jacket over a white button-down shirt; Harrington is wearing a black suit coat over a white button-down shirt

We interviewed all three candidates for U.S. Senate in Illinois — hear the highlights

Election Day is less than a week away, and one of the biggest choices before Illinois voters is who will succeed retiring U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin.Democratic Lt. Gov. Juliana…
Prairie Fire

“Prairie Fire” wins two Mid-America Regional Emmy® Awards

Season three of WILL-TV's popular magazine show won two Mid-America Regional Emmy® Awards at the 2026 Mid-America EMMY Awards in Kansas City, MO.
Illinois Soul Blog

Election 2026 Voter Guide

From the Champaign County Clerk and Sheriff to U.S. Senate and House seats, several local and statewide races are on the ballot. Click here for everything you need to know.
State of Change

Small gestures to make a big difference in preserving our planet

We visit a zero-waste general store, a garden bringing a community together in a Chicago food desert, a program protecting pollinators, and advice to increase sustainability…