State Senator Daniel Biss wants to beat Bruce Rauner in next year’s gubernatorial election. But the Evanston Democrat doesn’t blame all of the state’s problems on the GOP incumbent. The former University of Chicago mathemetician addressed a gathering of 50 people in a downtown Champaign bar on Thursday, three days after another candidate for governor, J.B. Pritzker, was in the area.

Two weekend events organized by Democratic groups seek out not only ways to respond to the policies of President Donald Trump, but are also intended to sign up volunteers for community groups. Organizers of Saturday's "Building a Progressive Politics in the Trump Era" include Urbana Alderman Aaron Ammons, while Sunday's "First We Marched, Now We Huddle" is seen as the Champaign County Young Democrats' follow-up to the Women's March held in downtown Champaign in January.