Updated: 10:43 PM A changing of the guard in Freeport. As the city swears in a new mayor for the first time in eight years.

Posted: 9:51 PM Illinois' largest union has given the final go ahead on a three-year contract with the state.

Posted: 9:50 PM An Illinois senator is blaming unnamed "extremists" who oppose legislation to restrict the possession of concealed guns for delaying a vote on the issue.

Posted: 10:26 PM Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan says lawmakers will need to take "tough positions" to reach a compromise on legislation allowing the carrying of concealed weapons.

Updated: 11:01 PM The Reclaiming First Bill passed in the House by a vote of 77-38.

Posted: 9:54 PM Illinois 17-year-olds would be able to vote in primary elections in some cases under legislation headed for Gov. Pat Quinn.

Updated: 10:42 PM It's now up to Governor Quinn to sign the Lincoln Promise Zone Act. It passed the Senate Wednesday.

Posted: 8:51 PM Legislation that would help Illinois public school districts merge to save money is headed for Gov. Pat Quinn's desk.

Updated: 8:48 PM Joe Drought has been the Chief of the Rock Valley College Police Department for nearly 17 years and now he has a new job in mind.

Posted: 8:28 PM The state Assembly has passed a Republican bill that would ensure repeat drunken drivers spend time behind bars.

Posted: 9:35 PM The Minnesota Senate has voted to legalize gay marriage, putting the state on the brink of becoming the 12th to allow same-sex couples to marry.

Updated: 9:54 PM The U.S. Department of Transportation decided that the airport's control tower will stay open.

Posted: 10:26 PM A legislative committee has approved a bill that would ensure repeat drunken drivers spend time behind bars.

Posted: 2:43 PM The Illinois Senate has approved a union-supported pension reform bill. But the measure faces an uncertain future in the House, where lawmakers passed a competing proposal last week.

Posted: 10:17 PM House Speaker Michael Madigan is moving forward with a plan to require local school districts to pay their share of teacher pensions.

Posted: 10:13 PM A legislative committee is scheduled to vote this week on a bill that would ensure repeat drunken drivers spend time behind bars.

Updated: 8:23 PM Illinois union leaders are encouraging lawmakers to support a pension reform proposal that they recently agreed on with the state's Senate president.

Posted: 10:22 PM U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk says rehab worked after he suffered a stroke last year.

Posted: 4:30 PM Rarely do city government feuds escalate as quickly as one did at last night’s financial committee meeting in Freeport.

Posted: 9:41 PM Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan is proposing a comprehensive pension-reform package that caps the salary on which a pension can be based and limits annual cost-of-living increases.

Posted: 9:40 PM The largest Illinois government employees' union will take a second ratification vote on its tentative three-year contract because of a continuing lawsuit over back wages.

Posted: 8:32 PM Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn has released his 2012 federal and state income tax returns, which show the only money he earned was his governor's salary of $160,421 and a taxable refund of $1,203.

Posted: 8:23 PM A scheduling change means both former U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. and his wife, Sandi Jackson, will be sentenced on the same day in Washington federal court.

Posted: 9:37 PM Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan's office says dropping a lawsuit over union workers' back pay is premature.

Updated: 9:53 AM With flight delays mounting, the Senate has passed legislation to end air traffic controller furloughs blamed for inconveniencing large numbers of travelers.