Illinois voters go to the polls on November 8, but they won't officially cast the votes for the next President. Both state parties have decided the handful of people who will have that privilege.

In just a few years, one has transformed the Illinois Republican Party from a perennial also-ran into a serious contender. Bruce Rauner been an agenda-setter, a shot-caller, and a rainmaker. And his party’s true believers couldn’t be happier.

The Republican State Convention held in Peoria over the weekend produced a platform that retains a committment to traditional marriage; meanwhile party leaders called for unity behind the November ticket, while rarely mentioning presumptive nominee Donald Trump.

Legislators appears no closer to a budget deal as they return to Springfield Tuesday.  Last week, former Republican Gov. Jim Edgar, who supported Gov. Bruce Rauner during his campaign, said the governor shouldn't "hold the budget hostage'' waiting for business reforms.