Kelli Smith

A Cook County clerk's office center in Cicero, shown Oct. 13, 2020, for processing mail-in ballots.

Cook County working through backlog of 20,000 mail-in ballot applications

October 14, 2020 at 12:03 a.m.

With just three weeks to go until Election Day, Cook County election officials said Tuesday that they are working through a backlog of roughly 20,000 vote-by-mail applications and should have...

SWAT called to home in Chatham where man was holding four children

October 12, 2020 at 5:30 p.m.

SWAT officers were called Monday morning to a home in Chatham where a man was holding four children, according to preliminary information from the police. Officers were sent to the...

Chicago man, 27, killed in car crash on I-57 in Posen as he attempted to change lanes

October 12, 2020 at 5:07 p.m.

A 27-year-old man from Chicago died following a car crash early Monday on Interstate 57 in Posen, according to Illinois State Police. The crash happened about 3:40 a.m. in the...

People fill out their ballot during early voting at Welles Park in Chicago, Oct. 14, 2020.

The pandemic left election officials scrambling for judges in March. But extra pay and a law that allows younger workers has them optimistic about Nov. 3.

October 12, 2020 at 10:30 p.m.

As the coronavirus pandemic began to take hold in Illinois in the days before the March 17 primary, hundreds of poll workers backed out and left local election authorities scrambling...

A person rides a Divvy bicycle past mail boxes outside of Chicago's Lakeview post office on Aug. 13, 2020.

Want to vote by mail in Illinois? Here’s how.

October 15, 2020 at 12:44 a.m.

Election Day is scheduled for Nov. 3, but many Illinois residents already have requested mail-in ballots, an option state officials encourage for all registered voters this year because of the...

Planning to vote in person this year? What Illinois voters should know before heading to the polls.

October 9, 2020 at 8:08 p.m.

Early voting in Illinois is underway. While a record-setting number of people have applied for a mail-in ballot in Illinois, scores of voters across the state have ventured out of...

Early voters vote their choice at 191 N, Clark in Chicago, Thursday, Oct. 1, 2020. The lines stretched out to the corner and nearly around the block. (Antonio Perez/ Chicago Tribune)

¿Planea votar en persona este año? Lo que los votantes de Illinois deben saber antes de ir a las urnas

October 9, 2020 at 5:42 p.m.

La votación temprana ya empezó en Illinois. Si bien un número récord de personas ha solicitado una boleta por correo en Illinois, decenas de votantes en todo el estado se...

A voter puts her ballot into the ballot box on the first day of early voting at the DuPage County Fairgrounds, Sept. 24, 2020 in Wheaton.

Elections board says mail-in applicants who instead want to vote in person should first wait for their ballots to arrive

September 26, 2020 at 1:20 p.m.

Illinois election authorities are asking voters who applied for a mail-in ballot but then decide to cast their vote in person to "allow sufficient time" until their ballot arrives before...

As early voting begins, some voters experience hourslong wait times in northern Illinois counties

September 25, 2020 at 2:13 p.m.

Voters in some Illinois counties experienced hourslong wait times Thursday while trying to cast their ballots in the general election on Illinois' first day of early voting. A limited number...

"I voted" stickers are ready for voters at the polling place inside South Shore Fine Arts Academy on Feb. 26, 2019. Polls opened at 6 a.m. as Chicagoans chose among 14 candidates vying for the city's top job. (Jose M. Osorio/Chicago Tribune)

Want to vote early in Illinois’ general election? Here’s what you need to know.

September 25, 2020 at 10:57 a.m.

Balloting for the Nov. 3 general election kicks off Thursday with the opening of some early-voting polling sites while election officials across the state begin to mail out ballots to...

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