Election night dims early for State Sen. Daniel Biss
By Elizabeth Beyer Medill Reports The crowd of roughly 350 staffers, volunteers and supporters of State Sen. Daniel Biss (9th) shifted from joyful to somber in just two hours after the polls closed across Illinois earlier this evening. Billionaire businessman J.B. Pritzker won the Democratic gubernatorial primary race with more than 45 percent of the vote, nearly […]
The After-Bern: Will Bernie Sanders make another run for President?
By Elizabeth Beyer Medill Reports Supporters of Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders are already calling on him to run for president in 2020. The Vermont politician has yet to confirm or deny his second bid for the presidency but multiple news outlets have hinted at the possibility. Regardless of his rumored political aspirations for the next presidential election, the […]
Sen. Bernie Sanders backs Jesús “Chuy” García for Congress
By Elizabeth Beyer Medill Reports Vermont Independent Senator Bernie Sanders spoke during a rally for congressional candidate Jesús “Chuy” García at Apollos 2000 in Little Village recently. Garcia is one of three Democratic candidates vying for Congressman Luis Gutierrez’s seat after the representative of the 4th District in Illinois announced he would not seek reelection. “I’m not […]
Devastation still evident in Puerto Rico five months after Maria
By Elizabeth Beyer Medill Reports Rolling blackouts and lack of access to running water still plague much of Puerto Rico five months after Hurricane Maria struck the island. Residents of the La Perla neighborhood of San Juan fear they will be left out of plans to rebuild the electric delivery system entirely. That threatens to leave the community on its […]
20-year-old candidate for Cook County’s 13th District pushes grassroots campaigning
By Elizabeth Beyer Medill Reports Bushra Amiwala was still in her teens when she announced her candidacy last March as one of three democratic contenders for the Cook County Board in the 13th District. The DePaul University student, now 20, said people questioned her qualifications and background because of her age when she entered into […]
Record number of millennials sign up to run for local office in 2018 midterms
By Elizabeth Beyer Medill Reports Grassroots organizations launched since the last national election to train young first-time candidates received thousands of requests for assistance. First time candidates under the age of 35 are taking on entrenched incumbents in midterm races across the country. Many of them cited the outcome of the 2016 presidential election and lack […]
Democratic candidates trade digs at the first televised Illinois gubernatorial forum
By Elizabeth Beyer Democratic candidates with an eye on winning Gov. Bruce Rauner’s title took fire at each other Tuesday night for the first televised debate of the gubernatorial race. The debate signaled a growing rivalry between candidates that include billionaire financier J. B. Pritzker, State Senator Daniel Biss and businessman Chris Kennedy as the […]
Marchers rally for women candidates and immigrants at March to the Polls
By Elizabeth Beyer The 300,000-strong show of force to get-out-the-vote for women and progressive candidates energized marchers gathered in downtown Chicago on Saturday for the Women’s March to the Polls. Organizers estimated that attendance was up 50,000 compared to last year’s march, as participants joined the call for high voter turnout in upcoming local and […]
