Mayor, county board president say streamlining, cooperation has identified $20 million in savings so farMayor Rahm Emanuel and Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle on Tuesday touted modest savings from working together on upcoming elections and collecting back taxes from businesses.

Political bank accounts controlled by Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan received more than $1.5 million in campaign contributions in the final three months of 2011, records filed with state elections officials showed Tuesday.

Emigrants can cast ballot in upcoming election, though few doLeaders of Mexico's seven political parties were in Chicago on Thursday to attract expatriate votes in their country's upcoming presidential elections.

Committeeman contests shaping for March 20 electionAs the memories of last year's city elections fade, many Chicago aldermen now are trying to shore up their power by running for the post of Democratic ward committeeman.

Freddrenna Lyle will serve until next year's electionsThe Illinois Supreme Court has appointed former Chicago Ald. Freddrenna Lyle a Cook County Circuit Court judge to fill a vacancy.

Woman faces criminal charges in referendum-petitions caseA 69-year-old Oak Lawn community activist has been charged with forging signatures on ballot petitions to support a referendum drive for the April municipal elections.

Hard-fought battles expected leading up to March electionsChicago-area Republican and Democratic congressional candidates are stockpiling cash as they gear up for March primary elections that are expected to be costly and contentious, new campaign finance reports show.

Vote that added administrators this year violated state law, suit saysA lawsuit filed Tuesday in Cook County Circuit Court alleges that the Chicago Public Schools system unlawfully held elections this year that added administrators to local school councils.

Logan Square organizer, alderman locked in feudThe future of the popular Logan Square Farmers Market is uncertain as a political feud stemming from the Chicago City Council elections continues between a Northwest Side alderman and the market's organizer.

Flips settle trustee, school board races that ended in tiesCoin tosses on Monday decided the outcomes of two west suburban elections in which candidates had finished with identical vote totals.

Candidates tied in Island Lake, Green OaksChuck Cermak would have preferred a duel.

For a Better Chicago makes choices in 3 wards where mayor-elect hasn't made endorsementsA political fund aligned with Mayor-elect Rahm Emanuel on Wednesday endorsed four more candidates in next month's City Council runoff elections, including contenders in three races the incoming mayor has decided to sit out.

After elections, as many as half of Chicago's aldermen could be rookiesThe dynamic at City Hall will change dramatically this year, and not just because Mayor Richard Daley is moving out of his iconic fifth-floor office after a record-long run.

Republican targets Gorman's campaign fundComplaints leveled against Cook County Commissioner Liz Gorman and her campaign fund by a former Republican primary opponent should be heard in a public hearing, the state Appellate Court has ruled, reversing an earlier decision by the State Board of Elections.

Appointments are subject to approval by City CouncilMayor Richard Daley on Wednesday named three interim aldermen, including two who are aldermanic candidates in the February municipal elections.

Elections Board's decision in residency case likely to be challenged by losing sideChicago elections commissioners are scheduled to vote Thursday on whether mayoral candidate Rahm Emanuel will remain on the ballot.

Chicago Board of Election Commissioners could vote on issue ThursdayWhat may go down as one of the more memorable hearings in city elections history wrapped up Thursday with closing arguments from lawyers for mayoral hopeful Rahm Emanuel and those trying to knock him off the ballot.

Although the contest to replace the retiring Mayor Richard Daley is the marquee race in next year's city elections, voters also will pick a new city clerk and new aldermen in perhaps a fifth of the wards, where the elected leaders wield a fair amount of their own Chicago clout.

Democratic, Republican candidates work to energize electorateRepublicans hit a pumpkin parade and Democrats passed out candy and political fliers Sunday in a Halloween-flavored pitch for a few more votes that could make the difference in Tuesday's elections.

First public appearance in hometown since his 2008 victory nightWith midterm elections just days away, President Barack Obama will speak Saturday at a Democratic rally in Hyde Park, his first public appearance in Chicago since his 2008 election-night victory rally in Grant Park.

Questionnaires elicited more detail than Senate rivals have offered on campaign trailThe national health care debate is a hot topic in midterm elections around much of the country, but it has been little mentioned this fall by leading U.S. Senate candidates Alexi Giannoulias and Mark Kirk.

Vice president rallies local Democrats as midterm elections heat upVice President Joe Biden implored a union audience Tuesday to turn out votes for Gov. Pat Quinn and other Democrats in a Chicago visit that marked the second phase of a quick three-part assist to the state's ruling political party by President Barack Obama's White House.

State Board of Elections finalizes Nov. 2 ballotThe Illinois State Board of Elections put the state's Nov. 2 ballot in final form, ruling out a slate of candidates running under the banner of the Constitution Party but leaving on a slate running as Libertarians.

60-day term to fill Obama seat and 6-year term to be on Nov. 2 ballot Illinois voters will cast two votes for U.S. Senate on Nov. 2 — one for a senator who will serve 60 days and the other for one who will serve a six-year term — under an order issued Thursday by Gov. Pat Quinn as required by th...

Prosecutors want to muzzle out-of-court statements by ex-governor and his defense team For all his success at raising mountains of campaign cash and winning elections, Rod Blagojevich earned a reputation as an undisciplined leader who was chronically late to events, picked public fights with political allie...

Capping off a tumultuous year at the Chicago Public Schools is one of the most hotly contested union elections in decades.