The governor has a very good executive staff. But there’s no substitute for a present governor. Legislators are generally a needy bunch. They see him on national TV during session and wonder why he isn’t attending to them. That’s simple Statehouse reality and has been forever.

Sunday marked the 249th anniversary of the establishment of the official American flag, which was created by an act of the Continental Congress on June 14, 1777.

Lawmakers should not overlook a proven tool that has quietly delivered results for more than two decades: the Illinois Affordable Housing Tax Credit.

Police departments must not give into First Amendment auditors, who seek only to provoke in order to create viral videos, columnist Tom Weitzel maintains

It’s the saga that won’t die.

This week marks the 60th anniversary of Miranda vs. Arizona, a landmark Supreme Court case that established the famous words that must be read before criminal interrogations.

William Stephen Hamilton was an early Illinois legislator who platted the city of Peoria. The sixth child and fifth son, William, was nearly 7 when his father was killed in a duel.

Columnist Tom Weitzel warns of the consequences when police departments collapse.

A list of the governor’s proposed budget cuts was circulating among state legislators last week.

Unlike today’s event, which is annually run on the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend, the Indianapolis 500 was held on May 30 every year until the early 1970s.

Every year when the legislature arrives at mid-May, it’s always tempting to look around, see the absence of real bicameral movement on legislation and conclude that nothing’s gonna happen in time for the scheduled May 31 adjournment.

After decades in policing, columnist Tom Weitzel learned that crime has seasons just like the weather. The patterns repeat year after year. If residents want to stay ahead, they must understand how work the patterns work and how to respond.

Megaprojects developers would negotiate with local governments what “special payments” they’ll pay on top of property taxes based on frozen assessments.

We hope the stories in this special edition serve as a reminder that heroism doesn’t have to be extraordinary to matter.

An honest conversation about law enforcement must include recognition of the people who rarely get mentioned but whose work is essential to a well-run police department, writes former Riverside Police Chief Tom Weitzel.

The Burma-Shave signs, which were a staple on American highways from 1926 to 1963, were a marketing bonanza for the company and became part of the allure of car travel in the era.

Illinois faces a structural budget crisis: tax hikes, not economic growth, are keeping the state solvent – and that strategy is running out of runway.

Today, you can bet on anything. I mean anything. Sports. Politics. The Oscars. The existence of aliens. Even warfare.