Chicago district disappointed in ex-congressman

CHICAGO | Residents in this swath of sprawling Chicago neighborhoods and suburbs have brimmed with loyalty to Jesse Jackson Jr. over the past 17 years, giving him an enthusiastic majority each election — even after questionable links to ex-Gov. Rod Blagojevich, reports of an extramarital aff…

Steep learning curve for Quinn

CHICAGO | Gov. Pat Quinn delivered his first State of the State address with a year of governing under his belt. It was a chance to prove he had a plan for Illinois and to lay out an agenda that would help him win a full term in office.

Ill. governor: Education is solution to $13 billion deficit

CHICAGO | While Gov. Pat Quinn has accused his opponent of telling voters fairy tales about balancing the budget, he provided only a hazy picture Monday of how he would close the $13 billion deficit and move Illinois forward.

From Springfield to the slammer: 2 Ill. governors, 2 convictions

SPRINGFIELD | Two Illinois governors from two different parties, two generations, two regions of the state. Both convicted of felonies.

Quinn names human services leader as chief of staff

CHICAGO| Gov. Pat Quinn named the head of Illinois' Department of Human Services as his new chief of staff Tuesday, and praised an old friend who had held the post until resigning amid an ethics probe for sending political e-mails from a state account.

Quinn's chief of staff resigns amid probe

CHICAGO | The revelation that Gov. Pat Quinn announced the replacement of his office watchdog on the same day that he was briefed about an ethics probe of his chief of staff gave Republicans an opening Monday to raise questions about Quinn's good-government promises during a tough fall campaign.

Blagojevich is campaign distraction for Ill. Dems

SPRINGFIELD | Alexi Giannoulias had planned to talk jobs. The Democrat in a tight race for President Barack Obama's former U.S. Senate seat wanted to take the opportunity to say his Republican opponent had helped wreck the nation's economy.

Edgar: Ill. needs Blago saga to end

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. | Illinois needs the Rod Blagojevich saga done with so it can deal with long-ignored problems like a gaping budget deficit, says former Gov. Jim Edgar, the only one of the state's three most recent former governors who hasn't been indicted.