The remaining 7.5 weeks of the Illinois General Assembly’s spring session comprise Gov. Bruce Rauner’s last real chance before November’s election to show voters that the skills he used to amass a personal fortune can transfer to state government.

J.B. Pritzker speaks to the media after a “Chicago Tonight” candidate forum on March 14, 2018.

With the race for governor winnowed down, Democrat J.B. Pritzker and Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner are wasting no time in going after one another. 

Gov. Bruce Rauner and J.B. Pritzker appear on “Chicago Tonight” on Aug. 14, 2017 and March 14, 2018, respectively.

Brace yourselves, Illinois residents. The matchup between Gov. Bruce Rauner and venture capitalist J.B. Pritkzer virtually guarantees incessant campaigning and political ads leading up to the Nov. 6 general election.

(Jim Bowen / Flickr)
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A bill that would have placed more regulations on gun dealers goes down with the stroke of a pen in Springfield.

State Rep. Jeanne Ives is running an insurgent campaign to challenge Gov. Bruce Rauner in the Republican gubernatorial primary on March 20. Hear about her campaign and plans for the state in our full video.

Gov. Bruce Rauner speaks Wednesday at a ribbon-cutting for a new AT&T call center on the Northwest Side. (Chicago Tonight)
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Gov. Bruce Rauner says he’s been clear about his stance on guns. But he won’t say whether he’ll sign recently passed legislation that would require Illinois gun dealers to be licensed by the state.

House Bill 768 passed through the state House and Senate easily last year, but the governor’s veto of the legislation, which seeks to limit state oversight of local decisions to shutter underperforming charter schools, doesn’t come as a surprise.

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Early childhood care advocates say Gov. Bruce Rauner’s proposed budget will hamper their ability to expand high-quality services to low-income families.

Gov. Bruce Rauner on Wednesday laid out a $37.6 billion spending plan that heavily relies on the income tax increase he constantly bemoans and calls for balancing the budget largely by shifting costs to local governments.

Gov. Bruce Rauner gives his election year State of the State speech, but Democrats – and even some Republicans – cast doubts on the sincerity of his message.

(Meagan Davis / Wikimedia Commons)
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State legislators override Gov. Bruce Rauner’s amendatory veto of a trailer bill to the state’s new evidence-based funding formula. But school districts awaiting new state equity funding will still have to wait to get those dollars, according to one bill sponsor.

Even as Gov. Bruce Rauner is expected to call for bipartisanship Wednesday, a source with knowledge of the speech says he will call for legislation that takes direct aim at House Speaker Michael Madigan.

From national issues down to neighborhood ones, 2017’s political landscape was shaped by the effect of President Donald Trump’s first year in office.

Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner on Monday demanded with heated rhetoric that Cook County Assessor Joe Berrios step down—a call that Berrios, a Democrat, not only refused to heed, but fired back at Rauner.

Gov. Bruce Rauner has thus far ignored calls to commit Illinois to meeting goals set in the Paris climate agreement, which aims to slow global warming through reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.

Gov. Bruce Rauner came into office selling his credentials as a deal-making businessman who could turn Illinois around. But nearly three years into his term, Rauner said he’s “not in charge.”