Not only is Illinois' overall population in deep decline, the number of people in prime working age also is going down in the state, a Chicago-based Conservative think tank said in a recent report.

The Illinois State Board of Elections will again take up allegations against the state's embattled Auditor General Frank Mautino over more than $200,000 in possible illegal payments by his campaign committee following an appellate court opinion handed down earlier this week.

A Fayette County Precinct committeeman said he was "confused" by a "nomination process" in April that somehow led to a win for state Sen. Chapin Rose (R-Mahomet) over Robert Winchester, the longtime incumbent in the race for Republican State Central Committeeman in the 15th Congressional District, according to an affidavit obtained by Prairie State Wire.

Even a teacher and other school staff members who will never fire a gun should know how to handle one, a Chicago-area firearms instructor said during a recent interview.

Proposed legislation in the state Senate that would change the way cities select fire chiefs would not be good for municipalities, Richton Park Village Manager Regan Stockstell said during a recent interview.

Kirk Allen, a writer and founder of Edgar County Watchdogs, says he doesn't understand why the state Office of Executive Inspector General has "punted" his formal ethics compliant against Gov. Bruce Rauner and his administration to the state's Auditor General Inspector General.

An online news outlet's founder said he became ill when he heard an interview in which the Center for Tax and Budget Accountability's director advocated higher taxes in Chicago and Illinois to deal with the ongoing state and local pension crises.

The goal behind legislation introduced earlier this year to develop "inclusive curriculum" in Illinois schools to "portray the diversity of our society" isn't about all that, the director of an Illinois-based conservative family advocacy group said during a recent interview.

With Illinois' interest penalties alone approaching $1 billion, Truth in Accounting Director of Research Bill Bergman is wondering who is servicing the state's debt, an area where things can change very fast.

Sometimes the fact-checker needs a good fact-checking.

Gov. Bruce Rauner's decision to go on the offensive and attack Rep. Jeanne Ives (R-Wheaton), his challenger in the March 20 Republican primary, shows little regard for the truth and insults the intelligence of voters, the founder of an online news outlet said during a recent interview.

With Illinois' Republican Party seemingly more divided than ever going into March's primary, one of the state's "alt-center" political pundits, John Ruberry, said during a recent interview that the state's GOP needs to remember what it is.

It seems the Illinois Council on Developmental Disabilities didn't turn in a required report in time for State Comptroller Susana Mendoza's first debt transparency report because the council had nothing to report, or at least that's what its director says.

It was a bit like the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services failed to get its required homework turned in on time for State Comptroller Susana Mendoza's first debt transparency report, but a department deputy director said they did get it turned in.

The $15.7 billion the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) recently approved in its fiscal year 2019 budget request is bad for the state's economy, a Cato Institute director said during a recent interview.

It has been more than three months since long-time victims rights advocate Denise Rotheimer repeated during a public hearing accusations of sexual harassment against a high-ranking Illinois state senator and still she can't seem to be heard.

A tax-credit scholarship program enacted by Illinois lawmakers last summer to provide tuition to attend nonpublic schools has brought in more than $40 million, the director of an education advocacy group said during an interview last weekend.

Fixing the College Illinois prepaid tuition program, which closed to new investors last summer after falling $320 million short of its obligations, will not be easy and a taxpayer bailout is likely, Rep. Brad Halbrook (R-Shelbyville) said during a recent interview.

With the New Year about a week away, it's time to reflect on the rough-and-tumble time that was 2017 and project forward into the uncertainty of 2018. From struggles in the state General Assembly over the budget and sexual harassment, to Gov. Bruce Rauner's swings to the left to Lisa Madigan's unexplained decision to not seek another term as Illinois attorney general and other news items that made for an interesting year, here's our 2017 in review.

Illinois Democrat gubernatorial hopefuls' support for legal marijuana is effectively inviting the industry dubbed Big Tobacco 2.0 into the state, the founder of a marijuana industry pushback group said during a recent interview.