Lynn Sweet

For the past two elections, voters in the same handful of heavily white Chicago wards gave relatively substantial support to former President Donald Trump — more than 25%. Will Trump do better in 2024?

Another finding from the exit polls: The gender gap is real. Polls show Harris, who would be the nation's first female president, was backed by 55% of women and 43% of men, with the numbers just about reversed for Trump.

In terms of percentage, Donald Trump bested every Republican running for president in Illinois since 1992, according to unofficial statwide returns.

A Sun-Times analysis of host committee direct spending — broken down by ZIP codes — revealed very little spent in Chicago's ZIP codes with the lowest average incomes. The most was spent in the United Center and adjacent Loop and West Loop ZIP codes.

I expect that on Day One — maybe within hours of being inaugurated on Jan. 20 — Donald Trump will sign a proclamation invoking, say, the Insurrection Act or the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 or some other archaic law to give him power to deploy the armed forces in the U.S.

The former Chicago mayor who is now the U.S. ambassador to Japan told the Sun-Times he is weighing his options about the next “best way to serve.”

Though no government officials were publicly confirming there had been a prisoner swap as part of the release of three U.S. citizens being held in China, three Chinese citizens who had been in federal prison are no longer in custody, having been granted clemency last week.

The biggest political guessing game in Illinois is whether Durbin will seek a sixth term in 2026.

Sen. Dick Durbin, the Illinois Democrat who is the state's most powerful advocate in Congress, said Sunday he will decide whether to seek another term early next year.

Illinois Democrats Sen. Dick Durbin, Sen. Tammy Duckworth and other Senate Democrats urged Biden on Tuesday to take decisive actions on the immigration front before he leaves office and President-elect Donald Trump orders mass deportations.