Why run for congress in a district where your opponent is heavily favored to win?

Relegated to super-minority status in the General Assembly and Congressional delegation, do Illinois Republicans have a path back to power? Who will challenge Gov. J.B. Pritzker and U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth next year? And will Democrats pay a price for going it alone on drawing new legislative districts?

Two decades ago, hundreds of life-sized cow sculptures in Chicago ignited a worldwide interest in public art. Now, more than a dozen are back in the city for the month of July. Plus, Illinois Democrats have drawn our state’s election maps for years, and they’ll probably get another chance after the 2020 census. And, federal immigration authorities tried to access Illinois driver’s license photos. We’ll hear from the Illinois Secretary of State’s office about why they said "no" to that request. Also, divorced women could more easily revert back to their maiden name with a new Illinois law. 

The U.S. Supreme Court hears arguments Tuesday in Gill v. Whitford, a Wisconsin case challenging partisan legislative maps. Wendy Tam Cho is a political science professor on the University of Illinois Urbana campus. Cho says this case is particularly important because it could determine the court’s role in future cases on gerrymandering.

In an address before the Illinois legislature Wednesday, President Barack Obama told lawmakers that people around the country are turned off by the current "poisonous political climate'' in the U.S.  He also reminisced about his days in the Illinois legislature and his first lessons in politics.