Police need warrant to use drug-sniffing dogs, not the other way around: Illinois Supreme Court

By Hannah Meisel  - October 19, 2018

Police need a warrant to use drug-sniffing dogs to smell out evidence outside of an apartment door in the hallway of a residential building, the Illinois Supreme Court ruled in a 5-2 decision Thursday.

In Illinois Governor’s Race, Rauner and Pritzker See a Clear Need to Promise Transparency

By Mick Dumke  - October 19, 2018

ProPublica Illinois reporter Mick Dumke looks at the state’s political issues and personalities in this occasional column. Since he first entered politics as a candidate five years ago, Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner has pledged his commitment to open government. As

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Lawmakers warned sports betting, online gaming ‘not a cash cow,’ should be regulated differently than legacy gaming

By Hannah Meisel  - October 18, 2018

The U.S. Supreme Court May ruling that New Jersey’s sports betting law was constitutional opened the doors to sports betting everywhere, including Illinois.

Checking in on third-party candidate fundraising

By Hannah Meisel  - October 17, 2018

Last month, The Daily Line took a deep dive into what three third-party candidates reveal about the Illinois Republican Party. Now that quarterlies have been filed, it’s a good time to look into the finances of the three candidates.

Cyber navigator program up and running but results won’t come for another year

By Hannah Meisel  - October 17, 2018

Though Illinois will see three major elections within the next six months, it will be another year before the state finishes tuning up its local election practices via the a troupe of cyber navigators hired to survey and help fix

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National Guard to stand ready for Election Day cyber attacks

By Hannah Meisel  - October 17, 2018

In order to allay concerns over voter and ballot security on Election Day, the Illinois National Guard will be standing by on Nov. 6, ready to appear at any of the state’s 108 election authorities within an hour of being

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Quarterly curiosities: headlines and quirks from top campaigns’ third quarter reports

By Hannah Meisel  - October 16, 2018

Democrat JB Pritzker outspent Gov. Bruce Rauner two to one in the third quarter. Rauner’s fundraising from July through September was only 11 percent of what Pritzker reported. But Rauner did keep up with Pritzker in transfers to other campaigns

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Weekend money moves: Three weeks and change to go

By Hannah Meisel  - October 15, 2018

With a little more than three weeks left until Election Day, money flowing into campaign coffers will either be critical for last-ditch efforts or extraneous and its effects negligible, depending on how contributions are spent. That being said, it was

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Big players in online gambling to finally see campaign contributions come to bear

By Hannah Meisel  - October 15, 2018

After several years of putting it off, lawmakers say they are now serious about passing a comprehensive gaming bill — the first in several years since the legalization of video gaming terminals in Illinois.

Citizens count on the Illinois Freedom of Information Act but keep getting shut out

By Mick Dumke  - October 12, 2018

ProPublica Illinois reporter Mick Dumke looks at the state’s political issues and personalities in this occasional column. When Larry Young started requesting records from police, he just wanted to find out what had happened to his daughter, Molly. More than

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