Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker called a special session with the General Assembly to discuss reproductive health rights in Illinois in wake of a ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court that overturned Roe v. Wade.

The ruling ended constitutional protections for abortion that had been in place nearly 50 years.

Illinois is overwhelmingly Democratic with laws providing greater access to abortion than most states. Democrats hold veto-proof supermajorities in the House and Senate.

“In Illinois, we trust women,” Pritzker said in a statement following the court’s decision. “Despite the action of the Supreme Court today overturning Roe v. Wade, the right to safe, accessible reproductive health care is in full force in Illinois – and will remain so.”

Abortion is legal in the state and can only be restricted after the point of viability, when a fetus is considered able to survive outside the womb. Medical science determines viability at 24 to 26 weeks, but Illinois law does not specify a timeframe, saying a medical professional can determine viability in each case. Abortions are also allowed after viability to protect the patient’s life or health.

Pritzker signed into law in 2019 legislation expanding abortion rights across the state. 

The Reproductive Health Act rescinded prohibitions on some late-term abortions and 45-year-old criminal restraints such as criminal penalties for doctors performing abortions.

The restrictions adopted after the 1973 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Roe v. Wade that legalized abortion have never been enforced in Illinois because of court injunctions. 

Sponsors of the Reproductive Health Act warned at the time that its protections would be necessary should the landmark Roe v. Wade decision be overturned. 

Pritzker also repealed the Parental Notification Act in 2021, allowing pregnant minors to choose whether or not a legal guardian or family member is involved in their decision. Supports of the move said the repeal “protected the most vulnerable youth – such as victims of rape, incest, and domestic abuse – from being compelled to notify their abusers.”

Following the latest news of the SCOTUS decision, Pritzker tweeted “we will fight back.”

He called for a special session for reproductive health rights in “the coming weeks,” saying he did so with the support and consultation of House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch and Senate President Don Harmon.

“Together, we are committed to taking swift action to further enshrine our commitment to reproductive health care rights and protections,” Pritzker said.

In recent years, Illinois has seen an influx of patients traveling to the state to seek reproductive care.

According to data from the Illinois Department of Public Health, 7,534 nonresidents received abortions in Illinois in 2019, compared with 2,970 in 2014 and 5,528 in 2017.

In neighboring Wisconsin, doctors immediately stopped providing abortions on Friday, turning away women in waiting rooms and calling to cancel pending appointments following the Supreme Court’s ruling/

Friday’s outcome is expected to lead to abortion bans in roughly half of U.S. states.

 Justice Samuel Alito, in the final opinion issued Friday, wrote that Roe and Planned Parenthood v. Casey, the 1992 decision that reaffirmed the right to abortion, were wrong the day they were decided and must be overturned.

Authority to regulate abortion rests with the political branches, not the courts, Alito wrote.

The ruling is expected to disproportionately affect minority women who already face limited access to health care, according to statistics analyzed by The Associated Press.

Thirteen states, mainly in the South and Midwest, already have laws on the books that ban abortion in the event Roe is overturned. Another half-dozen states have near-total bans or prohibitions after 6 weeks of pregnancy, before many women know they are pregnant.

In roughly a half-dozen other states, the fight will be over dormant abortion bans that were enacted before Roe was decided in 1973 or new proposals to sharply limit when abortions can be performed, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a research group that supports abortion rights.

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After the United States Supreme Court struck down a law that required New York residents to demonstrate a special need for obtaining a concealed carry permit, Illinois legal experts are weighing in on whether the ruling will have an impact on the state’s gun laws and policies.

The 6-3 ruling, authored by Justice Clarence Thomas, asserted that laws requiring people to demonstrate a particular need for carrying a gun in order to get a license violated the Second Amendment right to “keep and bear arms.”

Thomas wrote that the Constitution “protects an individual’s right to carry a handgun for self-defense outside the home.”

Victor Henderson of the Henderson Parks, LLC law firm says that the ruling could have some impact on gun laws in other states, including in Illinois, but cautioned that the bigger takeaway from the ruling is that the Supreme Court is even willing to tackle gun-rights cases after showing hesitation in doing so in recent decades.

“The significance of the ruling is that the Supreme Court has not been very active in the last several years in terms of addressing Second Amendment or gun issues, and so because the New York law was about 100 years old, the fact that the Supreme Court waded into this issue at this point in time is something that appears to have national implications,” he said.

Henderson says that the city of Chicago and the state of Illinois, both of whom have more restrictive gun laws than other states, could potentially see challenges brought to those regulations based on the latest Supreme Court ruling.

“The concern is that this ruling will affect various state legislatures and it will affect various cities,” Henderson said. “So the cities and the states that are attempting to put in place laws that are more restrictive and make it more difficult for you to carry guns will wind up having those laws struck down.”

Illinois wasn’t mentioned specifically by the Supreme Court as having “special need” provisions in its concealed carry laws, and Attorney General Kwame Raoul says that the ruling won’t have an immediate impact on the state.

“Today’s decision striking down New York’s statutory scheme does not affect Illinois’ concealed-carry laws or other gun safety measures, and the steps that we have taken as an office to prevent gun violence and build safe communities remains preserved,” he said in a statement. “In the wake of the numerous occurrences of shocking gun violence that have taken place around the country, we continue to do all we can.”

Henderson says that the ruling could potentially “make it easier for people to carry guns” throughout the country, and some legal experts have speculated that the ruling could open the door for states with more restrictive gun laws, like Illinois, to be required to honor gun permits and other documentation from other states with less-severe restrictions.

That will likely have to be adjudicated by courts, but the immediate impact of dropping some barriers to gun ownership in other states will have an impact on Illinois, Henderson asserts.

“That’s how it affects us here in Chicago and how it affects us in Cook County and in Illinois, is that this ruling eventually, if not now, will make it easier for people to carry guns all over the country,” he said.

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Every 10 years, the United States Census gives a new accounting of where residents live in the country, and as a result, Congressional maps get redrawn and put people into new districts.

New Congressional maps in Illinois left some districts relatively intact, but several members of Congress are now going up against one another in primary races, and several lawmakers are running to represent new areas.

So how do you know which district you now live in?

There are a few different tools that you can use to help.

For starters, you can use this tool from NBC 5 and Telemundo, which allows you to input your address and to find out which races will be on your ballot in June, including which Congressional race you will be voting in:

Who’s On Your Ballot?

Find out who will be on your Illinois ballot in the 2022 primary election.

The House of Representatives also https://www.house.gov/representatives/find-your-representativehas its own tool, which lets constituents put in their ZIP codes to find out which Congressional race they will be voting in. If more than one member of Congress represents your community, then you can input your address to provide for a more exact

For a complete guide to voting in the Illinois Primary election click here.

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Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot was delivered a rebuke by the City Council on Tuesday, as the finance committee narrowly voted to repeal a tightened-ordinance that allowed for drivers to be fined if they were captured going six miles per hour or more above the speed limit in school zones and near parks.

That ordinance, which allowed drivers to be assessed a $35 ticket if they were driving between 6-to-9 mph over the limit, took another step toward being changed on Tuesday by a 16-15 vote by the committee, sending it to the full City Council for a vote on Wednesday.

Lightfoot, who spoke out harshly against the measure on Tuesday, blasted lawmakers who voted in favor of repealing the ordinance.

“The City Council Committee on Finance voted to sanction higher speeds around schools and parks when it seems that every day that there is another traffic fatality because of speeding and reckless driving,” Lightfoot said in a statement. “It is simply unconscionable that, after losing 173 Chicagoans to speed-related traffic fatalities in 2021, some Aldermen are acting with so little regard for public safety.”

Lightfoot said that the fines generated by the cameras help pay for infrastructure, after-school programming and other budget items.

The bill being considered by the City Council would eliminate speed camera fines for drivers going less than 10 miles per hour under the speed limit in school zones and near Chicago parks. The original ordinance assessed a $35 ticket to drivers caught going between 6-to-9 mph over the speed limit in school zones, with a warning issued for a first offense.

Under the new ordinance, that $35 ticket would not apply unless a driver is going 10 miles per hour or more above the speed limit in school zones.

According to data from Block Club Chicago, Chicago speed cameras issued 2.3 million tickets in the first 10 months of 2021 after the change was made, nearly as many as they had issued in the previous three years combined.

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While Illinois has several Congressional races that have drawn attention, one challenger’s push to unseat Rep. Danny Davis is gaining traction on the national level.

Kina Collins, an activist born in Austin who has gained a local following because of her work in combating gun violence, is turning heads in her race to potentially unseat Davis thanks to her messaging and prodigious fundraising, as she’s raked in more campaign cash than he has in recent months.

“Right now, we are feeling absentee leadership in the Illinois 7th,” she said. “Representative Davis has been my Congressman since I’ve been 5 years old…and it’s time to pass the torch.”

It was Collins’ work as a gun violence prevention activist that once prompted Davis to invite her to an event.

“I stepped into this work after being a child witnessing a murder in my neighborhood, knowing the victim, knowing the shooter, and the murder changed the trajectory of my life,” she said.

Davis beat her handily in the 2020 primary, and while there is a third Democrat on the ballot, Denarvis Mendenhall, Collins has attracted national starpower and fundraising to her cause. That includes donations from the Justice Democrats, a national Political Action Committee that most notably helped New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez win public office.

Thanks to that fundraising, Collins has been able to do something that no other Democratic primary challenger has done: run television ads against Davis.

Even still, Davis still has plenty of allies nationally, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who has endorsed the incumbent in his reelection fight.

Collins says that she feels it’s time for a new voice in the district, but says that she wants to work with Davis no matter the outcome of the election.

“I’m not trying to walk behind him, or in front of him,” she said. “I want to walk side-by-side with him and build a vision for the Democratic party nationwide, not just here in Illinois.”

Davis’ campaign has declined interview requests from NBC 5 Political Reporter Mary Ann Ahern, but says that they are confident that the incumbent has nothing to worry about in next week’s election.  

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Transportation Sec. Pete Buttigieg was in Chicago on Saturday, speaking to the city’s political leaders about efforts to encourage fair and equitable transportation options for all residents.

Buttigieg appeared at the 56th annual International Convention of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition in Kenwood on Saturday, speaking about the critical nature of investments in communities underserved by public transit, and how those investments will help build up those communities and reduce crime in the process.

“We think that if we invest in the places that have been disinvested in for years or decades, we are creating the opportunities that lead to safety,” he said.

Buttigieg spoke to convention-goers about Chicago’s share of the federal government’s $1.2-trillion infrastructure bill, with $2.5 billion of that money going toward investments in the city’s transit system.

The main beneficiary of that investment will be the city’s plan to extend the CTA’s Red Line beyond 95th Street, according to Mayor Lori Lightfoot.

“This Red Line extension will go all the way to the edge of our city,” she said.

Lightfoot says that the funding will also go toward addressing so-called ‘transit deserts,’ highlighting neighborhoods like Altgeld Gardens and Roseland.

“Those communities desperately need the support that the Red Line will bring to them,” she said.

Lightfoot said that her administration’s vision is to turn the entire city into a ’15-Minute City,’ meaning that all residents would be within 15 minutes of urban amenities.

“As we build up our infrastructure, we must do so in a smart way,” she said. “So that all residents can share in it…(and receive) all the opportunities that come with it.”

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by BRIAN NADIG

Democratic primary candidates in the 15th and 19th Illinois House districts and the 10th Illinois Senate District discussed their background, experience and key issues at a June 16 “Meet and Greet” at the Copernicus Center Annex, 5214 W. Lawrence Ave.

About 120 people the event, which was sponsored by the Jefferson Park and Gladstone Park chambers of commerce, Jefferson Park and Gladstone Park neighborhood associations, and Jefferson Park Forward. Candidates were asked to focus on the issues and refrain from personal attacks. On the Republican side of the races, either no candidate is running at this time or the candidate is unchallenged.

State Representative Lindsey LaPointe was first appointed to the 19th House District seat in 2019 and then was elected to a two-year term in 2020. The district includes Jefferson Park, Portage Park, Old Irving Park, Dunning and parts of Gladstone Park.

“I was a social worker turned policy advocate turned state representative, and it’s my experience on the ground as a social worker, primarily with kids with special needs and with seniors on fixed incomes on the Northwest Side who were struggling to stay in their homes, that was my inspiration for going into policy work, first, and then take the plunge into Chicago politics, second,” LaPointe said.

“We have a diversity of political opinions on the Northwest Side, … and that’s okay,” LaPointe added. “What we all have in common up here on the Northwest Side is a commitment to service and a commitment to being engaged in our communities.”

LaPointe said that the past 2 1/2 years have been “really challenging” due to the pandemic and that families must now deal with inflation and higher costs of living, with public safety being the “biggest issue” at this time. She added that the issues call for leaders “who authentically love” their communities and will be “relentless” in addressing the problems.

LaPointe said that the increase in gun violence started in March of 2020 when “everyone’s structure and routines were rocked” due to the pandemic, causing some students not to finish high school. She said that there are too many illegal guns on the street and that it is important to support and fund law enforcement but also to invest in the “frontline” community-based organizations working to reduce violence.

Tina Wallace, who is challenging LaPointe in the Democratic primary for the 19th House District seat, has worked in the real estate industry for 35 years and founded Barriers Against Repeated Cruelty, a networking and funding conduit for animals in need.

“Throughout my career I noticed most of the owners were men, and I didn’t like that so much, so I worked hard, and I’m proud to say I’m a female small business owner. Girls, never give up. You can break the glass ceiling,” Wallace said.

Wallace said that the message which she is receiving from residents on the campaign trail is clear. “They’re not happy, and they don’t feel safe … moms who don’t want their kids playing in the front yard,” and seniors who are too scared to leave their home, and residents who do want to buy gas while their children are in the car, Wallace said.

“People ask me why I’m running. I’m tired of what’s going on in our community. We need common-sense, practical solutions,” Wallace said.

“Through my experiences I’ve learned how to negotiate, listen and stand up for what’s right and not back down and bring people together who are on opposite ends of the spectrum for a meeting of the minds,” Wallace said.

Wallace said that she supports a cap on how much property tax bills can increase each year.

Wallace also criticized House Bill 3653, which calls for law enforcement reforms, as “radical ideology” that will make it tougher for police to remove trespassers, allow “those accused of violent crimes to walk freely” and make it easier for the sentences of those convicted to be reduced, she said.

State Representative Mike Kelly was appointed to the 15th House District seat in 2021, replacing John D’Amico. He is an 18-year veteran of the Chicago Fire Department and serves as athletic director at Saint Edward School. The district includes Mayfair, Edgebrook, Sauganash, and the northern section of Gladstone Park.

“My entire life has been about public service, whether at the firehouse or as a community volunteer,” Kelly said.

“Since getting the (House) appointment six months ago, I’ve hit the ground running by meeting with community groups and knocking of the doors of constituents, just to hear what their concerns are,” Kelly said. “I’ve co-sponsored 95 bills, 37 of which have become law.”

Kelly said that the some of the legislation he has supported calls for increasing funding for education, public safety and violence prevention and for further protecting a woman’s right to choose.

“I really love this community, and representing the 15th District,” Kelly said. He added that as a first responder, he has seen the effects of crime and that his experience as a firefighter will help him to better address the issue in Springfield. “When I’m knocking of doors, the first thing I hear about is crime.”

Kelly said that he supports “common-sense” gun safety legislation, including an expansion of background checks, and that Illinois has to work with neighboring states to address the flow of illegal guns. He said that supporting mental health programs can play a significant role in addressing violence and other problems.

Michael Rabbitt, who is challenging Kelly for the 15th House District seat, works at the Argonne National Laboratory where he leads a team that focuses on problem solving.

“I’m the oldest of six children, growing up we were taught the importance of service, faith, compassion, hard work, justice and inclusion, and those values have shaped what I am and what I’ve done in my life as a husband, parent, organizer, coach and a community leader,” Rabbitt said.

Rabbitt said that as a representative he would be committed to “ethical and transparent government” and would advocate for policies that support working families, including more affordable housing. “I worked alongside the community to ensure new development was approved, funded and built, and other developments are in the pipeline,” he said.

“When a hate crime occurred in the Cook County forest preserve, I co-founded a community organization focused on diversity and inclusion, and we hosted ‘peace in the preserve’ events,” Rabbitt said. He added that he also developed a racial and social justice ministry.

“In doing this work, I always challenge myself, what can I do to have a larger impact,” Rabbitt said. “My vision is an Illinois where people thrive.”

Rabbitt added that it is critical to address “the root causes of violence” and the need for good-paying jobs in disadvantaged communities and funding mental health and violence intervention programs. “Public safety is the bedrock of thriving” communities, he said.

State Senator Robert Martwick, an attorney, was elected in 2012 as a state representative for the 19th District, but in 2019:he was appointed to the 10th District Senate seat after John Mulroe left the Senate to become a judge.

“When I ran 10 years ago, I ran because I saw a society, a business world, a government that was not standing up for the middle-class, and I wanted to go down (to Springfield) and make a difference,” Martwick said.

Martwick said that his goals have included helping to bring about bipartisan cooperation, create an elected school board in.Chicago and approving a graduated state income tax that “would give middle-class, working-class people some tax relief” and make the wealthier “pay a little more.”

Martwick said that the Chicagoans will get to start voting on a school board in 2024 and that he will continue to fight for changes in the state income tax. He added that he was able to get bipartisan support in overriding former Republican governor Bruce Rauner’s veto of a bill that makes it easier for family members to collect life insurance benefits.

Martwick said that he supported the state’s new ban on “ghost guns,” which requires serial numbers on guns, but that many of the violent crimes in the state are being committed with the use of guns from other states. He added that the state has funded an expansion of the state crime lab in order to process evidence quicker, funded crime-fighting technology such as license plate readers and provided more resources for mental health programs, including some aimed at helping police officers.

Erin Jones, who is running against Martwick in the Democratic primary for the 10th Senate District seat, became a police officer in 2003. She has worked as a patrol officer, undercover narcotics officer and currently serves as a detective.

“For those who don’t know me, I’m Erin Jones. I’m not a political elitist. I’m not an inside politician. What I am is a mother, wife and Chicago police detective … and I’d be honored if I could go down to Springfield,” Jones said.

Jones said that she was raised in a single-parent household where decisions on whether to pay “the light bill or pay for groceries” had to be made and that she did not have health insurance until she became a police officer, relying on Planned Parenthood during her younger adult years.

Jones said that there has been a 36-percent increase in serious crimes this year in the 16th (Jefferson Park) Police District and that the “reckless” House Bill 3653 that ends cash bail and implements other law enforcement changes will make the city “less safe” and “vulnerable to the criminal element.”

She added that prosecution decisions, including the dropping of thousands of felony cases, made by County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx have contributed to the crime problems in the city.
“This defund the police agenda puts us on a really dangerous path,” Jones said. “We can’t retain veteran officers and recruit new officers.”

Jones said that addressing mental health issues also is a key to fighting crime.

Editor’s note: Nadig Newspapers publisher Brian Nadig is president of the Jefferson Park Chamber of Commerce, one of the event’s sponsors. For more coverage of the candidates, visit www.nadignewspapers.com

Pictured are (from left) Gladstone Park Chamber president Dan Ciolino, State Rep. Mike Kelly (D-15), State Senator Robert Martwick (D-10), 10th Senate District candidate Erin Jones, 15th House District candidate Michael Rabbitt, 19th House District candidate Tina Wallace, Gladstone Park Neighborhood Association president Joe DiCiaula and State Rep. Lindsey LaPointe (D-19).
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Get more in-depth, daily coverage of Chicago politics at The Daily Line.

The City Council Committee on License and Consumer Protection delayed two votes that had been scheduled for Thursday, including one on a controversial proposal to legalize car booting citywide.

Almost immediately after the committee’s Thursday meeting began, chair Ald. Emma Mitts (37) announced that a proposal (O2022-1217) from Ald. Ariel Reboyras (30) to expand the legalization of car booting to the entire city would be held in committee. Reboyras appeared on screen alongside Ald. Chris Taliaferro (29) and did not question Mitts’ decision to hold the measure. 

Car booting is currently only legal in about two-thirds of the city’s 50 wards. Reboyras said he introduced the measure to expand the practice at the direct request of alderman-turned-lobbyist Joe Moore.   

Related: Alderman’s push to expand private lot booting gets the boot   

Ald. Daniel La Spata (1) has led a charge against booting and has said he plans to work to defeat Reboyras’ ordinance. Nearly a dozen aldermen joined La Spata in his attempt to keep the ordinance stuffed in the City Council’s rules committee last month.   

Related: La Spata stands firm in attempt to block Reboyras’ proposal to allow car booting citywide   

Tobacco license moratoria 

Separately on Thursday, Mitts held in committee a proposal (O2022-1756) from Ald. Anthony Napolitano (41) that would allow aldermen to set local moratoria on the issuance of retail tobacco dealer licenses, similar to the way the City Council can set and repeal local moratoria on liquor licenses in specific areas. 

Napolitano explained that his proposal would allow aldermen to look at where in their communities “you have too much tobacco or you have too much vaping sold, and you can place a moratorium [in those areas].” 

“This gives you the ability to advocate for your community when you have five or six vape shops or tobacco shops opening up on one business corridor,” Napolitano added. 

Mitts said she held the proposal because she would like to include in the discussion representatives from the city’s Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection to “work along with partners as we look to see what they have already on the books and how they can implement and enforce this ordinance at the same time.” 

 Napolitano agreed with Mitts on holding the measure for a better discussion. 

Responding to a question from Ald. Jason Ervin (28), Napolitano said his proposal would not apply to cannabis licenses.  

Downtown liquor licensing 

Members of the committee on Thursday also approved a proposal (O2022-1628) by Ald. Brendan Reilly (42) to allow bars and restaurants with patios to serve alcohol until midnight in the city’s central business district.  

Reilly described his proposal to extend the operating hours as an “annual exercise” and noted the extra time for restaurants to operate is “incredibly valuable” following the pandemic.  

“We have not received an overwhelming number of complaints about the program, and therefore we are introducing our annual ordinance to extend these hours for the remainder of the season,” Reilly said. 

Reilly’s proposal (O2022-1627) to replace two existing liquor licenses on Navy Pier that were “absorbed” by the pier’s hotel when it opened also gained unanimous approval.  

“Navy Pier had asked for an additional two [licenses] to replace those, and those would be for restaurant operations,” Reilly said. “Certainly it seems appropriate — there’s not a high density of these on the pier, they’re well spread out.” 

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There are three ways to vote in Illinois’ primary election, set for June 28.

1: You can request a mail-in ballot and return it by either sending it through the U.S. Postal Service or by hand delivering it to your local election authority at an approved drop-off location.

2: You can vote early in person at an early voting location in your jurisdiction, open now through Election Day on June 28.

3: On Election Day, you can vote in person at your precinct’s specific polling place or, if your local election authority allows, at another voting location within your jurisdiction that will be open on June 28.

Here’s what you need to know about each of the three options:

How to vote by mail in Illinois

Anyone registered to vote in Illinois is eligible to vote by mail, no excuse needed.

Voters have until June 23 to request a mail ballot, though election officials advise you apply as early as possible to allow enough time for the ballot to arrive and be returned. To be counted, your mail ballot must be postmarked by Election Day and arrive within 14 days after.

You can find more information about voting by mail on the Illinois State Board of Elections website here or through your local election authority, which is where you can find an application to request a mail-in ballot.

If you requested to vote by mail and want to hand deliver your ballot, bypassing the U.S. Postal Service, you can do so in person at your election authority’s office or designated drop box locations.

How to vote early in the Chicago area

If you want to avoid the rush and cast your ballot in person before Election Day, you have plenty of options. Here’s the full list of early voting sites and their schedules across Chicago, suburban Cook County and 10 of the area’s suburban counties:

All residents of any of the counties listed can vote at any of their county’s early voting locations, with two exceptions: Some locations in Will County only serve residents of specific areas (as noted), and Chicago voters can only vote at the city’s early voting locations – not in suburban Cook County. Otherwise, you can pick whichever early voting location in your jurisdiction is most convenient for you.

How to vote on Election Day

If you prefer to cast your ballot on Election Day, in most counties in Illinois you have just one option: your designated polling place. If you don’t know where that is, you can find it by entering your address here on the State Board of Elections website.

If you are a resident of Chicago, suburban Cook County or DuPage County, you have a few more options on Election Day.

In Chicago, all early voting sites will remain open on Election Day for all voters in the city, as will two locations that are open to suburban Cook County residents: 69 W. Washington St. and the Union Station Founders Room at 225 S. Canal St.

And new this year, DuPage County has announced that it is the first county in Illinois to allow voters to cast a ballot at any of its 263 polling places on Election Day.

When are polls open on Election Day?

Polls open at 6 a.m. statewide, and will stay open through 7 p.m. But remember – if you are IN LINE when polls close, you can still vote! So if you’re rushing to your polling place at the last minute, don’t worry if you see a line – and don’t let anyone try to dissuade you from casting your ballot. 

For a complete guide to voting in the Illinois Primary election click here.

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Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker is less than two weeks away from the state’s primary election, but he’ll be spending the weekend in New Hampshire, fueling rumors that he could potentially evaluate a run for higher office in coming years.

Pritzker, who is expected to easily secure the Democratic nomination in the governor’s race, will travel to the northeast to help campaign for other Democratic candidates, with Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot joining him for part of the trip as they lobby the DNC to host its quadrennial meeting in the Windy City in 2024.

As for presidential rumors, Pritzker insisted that his visit is focused on other challenges.

“The truth is that I’m going to help other Democratic governors get elected,” he said. “I can’t tell you anything other than I love the job that I have and that’s why I’m running for reelection of the governor of this state and I intend to do a good job for the people of our state for the next four years.”    

Pritzker and the Democratic Governors’ Association are continuing to pour money into the Republican primary in the state, with an estimated $3 million in additional funding going toward defeating Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin in the GOP race.

State Sen. Darren Bailey, whose conservatism has been criticized in ads during the election cycle, says that Pritzker’s trip to New Hampshire, and his investments in the GOP primary, show an “arrogance” that he says could doom the governor in November.

“This is the same blind confidence that this man has that he thinks he’s saved this state, and I think it’s arrogance,” he said. “It’s blind arrogance, and I think come November he can jet out all the places he wants to.”

Pritzker has been facing criticism this week after news that Caterpillar now plans to move its global headquarters out of suburban Deerfield after more than 100 years in the state of Illinois.

The governor has argued that the company’s top executives are the only employees moving out of state, leaving more than 17,000 workers in Illinois.

 “It’s true that they’re moving 240 personnel to another location, but they’ve added hundreds of other jobs,” he said.

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