Fresh from a come-from-behind victory in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate, Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton greeted voters Wednesday and explained why she thinks an aggressive anti-Trump message resonated in Illinois.

Iran intensified its attacks on oil and gas facilities around the Gulf on Thursday, dramatically raising the stakes in a war that is sending shock waves through the global economy

U.S. stocks slumped Wednesday after a report said inflation was primed to worsen even before the war with Iran caused oil prices to spike

Tulsi Gabbard, the director of national intelligence, repeatedly deflected questions about the intelligence she had offered the Republican president. That exasperated Democrats who tried to use a rare public forum to extract answers about the widening conflict in the Middle East

The Labor Department reported Wednesday that its producer price index — which measures inflation before it hits consumers — rose 0.7% from January, and 3.4% from February 2025. The year-over-year increase was the most since February 2025

Trump’s core rationale for tariffs has been that they would force more factories to open in the U.S. and would generate enough revenue to close federal budget deficits. But that hasn’t materialized.

U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin’s decision not to seek another term led to a cascade of candidates running for not just his seat, but several congressional districts.

Joe Kent, the director of the National Counterterrorism Center, announced his resignation on Tuesday, saying he “cannot in good conscience” back the Trump administration’s war in Iran

Through lectures, scoldings and outright threats, President Donald Trump and his aides are ratcheting up the pressure on journalists to cover the war in the Middle East the way the administration wants.

White House chief of staff Susie Wiles has been diagnosed with early stage breast cancer but will continue working during her treatment, President Donald Trump said in a social media post on Monday

Since the United States and Israel attacked Iran more than two weeks ago, Tehran has regularly fired on Israel, American bases in the region, and Gulf Arab countries’ energy infrastructure with drones and missiles

He’s grown more agitated with news coverage and has failed to find a way to explain why he started the war — or how he will end it

Gulf states reported new missile and drone attacks on Sunday after Iran threatened to widen its campaign and called for the evacuation of three major ports in the United Arab Emirates as the war in the Middle East, now in its third week, expands further

From Capitol News Illinois: Prediction market platforms like Kalshi and Polymarket rake in millions from wagers on sports and current events but pay nothing in state betting taxes and ignore regulations that govern online sportsbooks.

The U.S.-Israel war with Iran entered its third week on Saturday as a missile struck a helipad inside the U.S. Embassy compound in Baghdad

Prices rose 2.8% in January compared with a year earlier, the Commerce Department said Friday

A barrel of benchmark U.S. crude rose 9.7% to settle at $95.73.

From Capitol News Illinois: Republican county clerks cautioned that while they weren’t fazed by President Donald Trump’s messaging or proposed changes to voting laws, they are concerned about how federal cuts to cybersecurity initiatives could affect future elections

Consumer prices rose 2.4% in February compared with a year earlier, the Labor Department said Wednesday, matching January’s increase

The Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday approved a generic medication for a rare brain disorder, while walking back statements by President Donald Trump and other administration officials that the drug showed great promise for people with autism

The national average gas price was $3.48 a gallon on Monday, up from $2.90 a month ago, before the war, according to tracking by AAA.

Most of the Democrats running for Illinois’ 9th Congressional District seat believe the rising cost of living is the greatest issue facing constituents – but some candidates have other priorities.

The Republicans running for Illinois’ 9th Congressional District seat cite immigration and gerrymandering among their top campaign issues.

New footage shows what an expert investigative group says is likely an American Tomahawk missile hitting a compound in southern Iran, meters from the school where a deadly unclaimed blast killed over 165 people at the start of the war raging in the Mideast

Iran named the hard-line Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei to succeed his late father as supreme leader on Monday, signaling no letup in the war launched by the United States and Israel

Oil prices have eclipsed $100 per barrel for the first time in more than three and a half years as the Iran war hinders production and shipping in the Middle East. In the U.S., a gallon of regular gasoline rose to $3.45 on Sunday, about 47 cents more than a week earlier

Russia has provided Iran with information that could help Tehran strike American warships, aircraft and other assets in the region, according to two officials familiar with U.S. intelligence on the matter

Iran’s president apologized Saturday for attacks on regional countries even as its missiles and drones flew toward Gulf Arab states, indicating that Tehran’s political leadership could not exercise full command over Iran’s armed forces

Local groups have organized a Stand Up for Science and Democracy rally from 10 to 11:30 a.m. Saturday outside the Kane County Circuit Clerk’s Office.

Cheryl Lee, past president of the Northern Illinois Home Builders Association and president of CL Design-Build Inc. – a custom homebuilder in the western suburbs, including Plainfield – said tariffs only exacerbate the current housing affordability crisis.

Prices have increased approximately 30 cents a gallon across northern Illinois since the war in Iran began. As of Friday morning, the price for a barrel of oil had moved north of $90, and according to the Associated Press, it could be going higher

There was no sign of the war letting up on its seventh day, as U.S. President Donald Trump appeared to rule out negotiations with Iran and called for its “unconditional surrender.”

American employers unexpectedly cut 92,000 jobs last month, a sign that the labor market remains under strain. The unemployment rate went up to 4.4%. Economists had expected 60,000 new jobs in February.

Officials say Iran’s retaliatory attacks in the Middle East over strikes from Israel and the U.S. have left some of America’s partners in the Gulf frustrated over a lack of notice or adequate defense

President Donald Trump says he’s replacing his embattled Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and will nominate in her place Oklahoma Republican Sen. Markwayne Mullin

The war has escalated each day, expanding well beyond the Gulf. On Thursday, Azerbaijan accused Iran of attacking it with drones — though Tehran denied launching them. A day earlier, the U.S. said it sank an Iranian frigate in the waters off Sri Lanka.

Renewed retaliatory strikes from Iran again raised anxiety in U.S. markets Thursday, sending futures lower and energy prices higher with prices at the pump jumping overnight.

Since the U.S. and Israel launched the war Saturday and killed Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran has unleashed thousands of drones and ballistic missiles targeting Israel, American military bases and embassies in the region

The House Oversight Committee voted Wednesday to subpoena Attorney General Pam Bondi to answer questions over the Justice Department’s handling of files regarding the Jeffrey Epstein sex trafficking investigation

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth acknowledged Wednesday that some Iranian air attacks may still hit their targets even as he asserted that U.S. military superiority is quickly giving it control of the Islamic Republic’s airspace

Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez again criticized the U.S. and Israel’s military actions in Iran, standing firm on Wednesday against trade threats from Washington and warning that the war in the Middle East risked “playing Russian roulette” with millions of lives

For President Donald Trump, some of the sharpest criticism he’s faced in the early days of the Iran war has come from once-loyal media figures far more accustomed to singing his praises

The U.S. Senate is headed towards a vote Wednesday on President Donald Trump’s decision to embark on a war against Iran, an extraordinary test in Congress for a conflict that has rapidly spread across the Middle East with no clear U.S. exit strategy

The State Department has been forced to close several embassies to the public, shut down at least one consulate, order the departure of embassy staff and families from at least six nations, and advise Americans in 14 countries to leave the region immediately

On Tuesday, oil prices rose again and raised more alarms. The price for a barrel of Brent crude, the international standard, briefly leaped above $84.

From Capitol News Illinois: Eighteen former Department of Justice attorneys signed onto an amicus brief arguing the Trump administration has no legal authority to demand voter registration data from Illinois

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem testified in the Senate on Tuesday in her first congressional appearance since the shooting deaths of two protesters in Minneapolis galvanized widespread opposition to how the Trump administration was executing its mass deportation agenda

The U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran add yet more question marks around a U.S. economy already buffeted by on-and-off tariffs, weak hiring, and lingering inflationary pressures.

Iran expanded its targets Tuesday, striking the U.S. Embassy in Saudi Arabia as Washington began to pull many staff out of the Middle East

The U.S. war in the Middle East "will affect oil prices significantly because of the uncertainty,” said Oguzhan Batmaz, assistant professor of economics at Lewis University in Romeoville