Lawmakers look to pare down Quinn hiring plan

SPRINGFIELD | Illinois lawmakers are taking a hatchet to Gov. Pat Quinn’s plan to hire new workers in the coming fiscal year.

Chicago Democrats lay out gun law plans

SPRINGFIELD | The two Chicago Democrats who control the Illinois General Assembly have laid out their strategies for dealing with a court order requiring the state to allow citizens to carry concealed weapons.

GOP chief looks to 2014 as committee could help lay foundation for gubernatorial win

SPRINGFIELD | The embattled chief of the Illinois Republican Party has formed a panel aimed at analyzing the GOP failures in November in hopes of charting a course for improvement in 2014.

Topinka: Ill. agencies face $1 billion shortfall

CHICAGO | Illinois' top fiscal officer urged lawmakers Monday to transfer more than $1 billion from financially sound state programs to agencies that are in danger of running out of money, including some that serve seniors, children and the disabled.

Illinois Dems: Limit guns in state, Chicago

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. | Illinois Democrats said Wednesday they won't wait for Congress to act on gun-control legislation and planned to press ahead with a statewide ban on assault weapons and tighter firearms restrictions in Chicago in the wake of the Connecticut school massacre.

Senate president says compromise with GOP still his goal, says Democratic caucus is a diverse group

SPRINGFIELD | Tuesday’s election left Democrats holding a whopping 40 of 59 seats in the Illinois Senate, giving Senate President John Cullerton a veto-proof majority and leaving minority Republicans with an even smaller voice in the legislative process.

Lugar stays the course against era's headwinds

U.S. Sen. Dick Lugar recalls returning home from the Navy to find the family manufacturing business going under and teaming up with his brother to see if they could save it.

GOP, Dem candidates agree on mergering two state offices

SPRINGFIELD | Democratic comptroller nominee David Miller is joining his GOP counterparts in their push to merge the offices of comptroller and treasurer.