Former FBI Director James Comey pleaded not guilty Wednesday to face a criminal case that has thrown a spotlight on the Justice Department’s efforts to target adversaries of President Donald Trump

As the government shutdown enters a second week, there’s no discernible endgame in sight.

Attorney General Pam Bondi repeatedly deflected questions as she sought during a combative congressional hearing on Tuesday to defend herself against growing criticism that she’s turning the law enforcement agency into a weapon to seek vengeance

Attorney General Pam Bondi will face lawmakers at a congressional hearing Tuesday amid growing questions about political influence over a Justice Department that has already criminally charged one of President Donald Trump’s longtime foes

U.S. Rep, Sean Casten will host a telephone town hall on Tuesday evening

Republican and Democratic lawmakers at an impasse on reopening the federal government provided few public signs Sunday of meaningful negotiations talking place to end what has so far been a five-day shutdown

Hopes for a quick end to the government shutdown were fading Friday as Republicans and Democrats dug in for a prolonged fight and President Donald Trump readied plans to unleash layoffs and cuts across the federal government

From Capitol News Illinois: On housing, Lt. Gov. and Senate candidate Juliana Stratton proposed creating a tax incentive to encourage construction companies to build “starter homes” that must be priced below the median price of housing

Plunged into a government shutdown, the U.S. is confronting a fresh cycle of uncertainty after President Donald Trump and Congress failed to strike an agreement to keep government programs and services running by Wednesday’s deadline

Employee furloughs and potential layoffs would halt some government activities. Other functions — like NASA’s space missions, President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown and certain public health work at FDA and the USDA — would continue

A partisan standoff over health care and spending is threatening to trigger the first U.S. government shutdown in almost seven years, with Democrats and Republicans in Congress unable to find agreement

Democratic and Republican congressional leaders are heading to the White House for a meeting with President Donald Trump on Monday in a late effort to avoid a government shutdown

President Donald Trump plans to meet with the top four congressional leaders at the White House on Monday, one day before the deadline to fund the federal government or face a shutdown

From Capitol News Illinois: Immigration and Customs Enforcement leaders in Chicago canceled a meeting scheduled for Friday with members of Illinois’ congressional delegation.

From Capitol News Illinois: U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin said he is hoping to meet with Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials this week about their operations in the Chicago area.

 President Donald Trump has abruptly canceled this week’s planned meeting with congressional Democratic leaders, refusing to negotiate over their demands to shore up health care funds as part of a deal to prevent a potential looming federal government shutdown

The Senate rejected competing measures on Friday to fund federal agencies for a few weeks when the new budget year begins on Oct. 1, increasing prospects for a partial government shutdown on that date

From Capitol News Illinois: Illinois on Wednesday announced plans to release $18 million it received after successfully suing the Trump administration for withholding the funds that Congress had already allocated

FBI Director Kash Patel clashed with skeptical Democrats at a contentious Senate oversight hearing Tuesday, defending his record amid criticism that he has politicized the nation’s premier federal law enforcement agency

Democratic candidates vying for outgoing U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin’s seat say tariffs under U.S. President Donald Trump has hurt small businesses and farmers.

The next Twin City Conservatives breakfast meeting will be at 8:30 a.m. Sept. 27 at A’s Kitchen in Rock Falls.

Schumer says he and House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries are united in opposing any legislation that doesn’t include key health care provisions and a commitment not to roll them back

Republican senators also expressed unease with RFK Junior's changes to COVID-19 policies

Survivors of Jeffrey Epstein’s sexual abuse made their voices heard Tuesday on Capitol Hill, pressuring lawmakers to force the release of the sex trafficking investigation into the late financier and pushing back President Donald Trump’s effort to dismiss the issue as a “hoax.”

The files mostly contain information that was already publicly known or available

The annual spending battle will dominate the September agenda, along with a possible effort by Senate Republicans to change their chamber’s rules to thwart Democratic stalling tactics on nominations

Two veteran federal officials from Illinois are relaunching an effort to amend the Illinois Constitution and end partisan gerrymandering in state legislative districts.

Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, said in a statement that the Constitution “makes clear that Congress has the responsibility for the power of the purse” and any effort to claw back funds “without congressional approval is a clear violation of the law.”

Community members are invited to an evening of toe-tapping tunes and barbecue grilling at the Senior Services Associates “Big Band & BBQ Event” in Yorkville.

Illinois saw 142 tornadoes in 2024. With weather teams stretched thin because of federal budget cuts, forecasters warn the next storm might slip through the cracks

Speaking to reporters Wednesday, Gov. JB Pritzker would not rule out the possibility of drawing new maps for Illinois if Texas Republicans follow through with their plans

The House Oversight Committee subpoenaed the Justice Department on Tuesday for files in the Jeffrey Epstein sex trafficking investigation and is seeking depositions with the Clintons and former law enforcement officials

The Senate left Washington Saturday night for its monthlong August recess without a deal to advance dozens of President Donald Trump’s nominees

The Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a cornerstone of American culture for three generations, announced Friday it would take steps toward its own closure after being defunded by Congress

The Senate confirmed former Trump lawyer Emil Bove 50-49 for a lifetime appointment as a federal appeals court judge Tuesday as Republicans dismissed whistleblower complaints about his conduct at the Justice Department

Here’s what could happen next in the House inquiry as lawmakers seek answers in a case that has sparked rampant speculation since Epstein’s death in 2019

Preventing gun violence has been one of Kelly’s top priorities in Congress

House Speaker Mike Johnson is rebuffing pressure to act on the investigation into Jeffrey Epstein, instead sending members home early for a month-long break from Washington

Republicans are encountering early headaches in Senate races viewed as pivotal to maintaining the party’s majority in next year’s midterm elections, with recruitment failures, open primaries, infighting and a president who has been sitting on the sidelines.

The House gave final approval to President Donald Trump’s request to claw back about $9 billion for public broadcasting and foreign aid early Friday

The legislation, which now moves to the House, would have a tiny impact on the nation’s rising debt but could have major ramifications for the targeted spending, from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting to U.S. food aid programs abroad

TV advertising has already begun in Illinois’ 2026 Democrat primary for U.S. Senate, and new fundraising numbers released Tuesday show the race is shaping up to be expensive

At nearly 900 pages, the legislation is a sprawling collection of tax breaks, spending cuts, and other Republican priorities, including new money for national defense and deportations

All three Republican members of the Illinois congressional delegation voted in favor of the bill, despite a last-minute plea from Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker who warned the bill will result more than 330,000 Illinoisans losing Medicaid coverage.

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimates the package will add $3.3 trillion to the deficit over the decade, and 11.8 million more people will go without health coverage

There’s no filibuster in the House, but Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries essentially conducted one anyway

Republican leaders in the House are sprinting toward a Wednesday vote on President Donald Trump’s tax and spending cuts package

The package now goes back to the House, where Speaker Mike Johnson had warned senators not to deviate too far from what his chamber had already approved. The Senate did make changes, particularly to Medicaid

A proposal to deter states from regulating artificial intelligence for a decade was soundly defeated in the U.S. Senate on Tuesday, thwarting attempts to insert the measure into President Donald Trump’s big bill of tax breaks and spending cuts

After a weekend of setbacks, the Senate will try to sprint ahead Monday on President Donald Trump’s big bill of tax breaks and spending cuts despite a series of challenges