Longtime lobbyist built lasting relationshipsRoger Cole Marquardt, a longtime Springfield lobbyist active in Republican politics, ran many political campaigns, including James "Pate" Philip's first run for the Illinois House of Representatives.

But event comes with political risks for Obama, EmanuelMayor Rahm Emanuel has touted the NATO summit as a way to showcase Chicago on an international stage, and much of the Chicago area agrees with that notion, a Tribune/WGN-TV poll shows.

The last thing President Barack Obama needs is a domestic crisis of gargantuan proportions, one that threatens to swallow up the NATO Chicago summit:

Missouri judge's ruling to open group's records to church lawyers sends chill through survivors' communityA prominent activist group in the Roman Catholic Church's clergy-abuse crisis is fighting a Missouri judge's ruling to open more than two decades of correspondence with victims, lawyers, witnesses and journalists thought to be confidential.

West Rogers Park man is married to an American, but immigration officials say he's a fugitive An attorney for a 28-year-old Nigerian man facing deportation will try to persuade immigration officials Monday to release his client from a Wisconsin detention center after his arrest last week. The lawyer and the man's American wife contend the arrest was unnecessary.

So what to do when you find yourself in the midst of a medical crisis? Getting a second opinion can help you get more information, clear up questions or confirm the direction that you're heading, experts say.

Battling for election advantage, parties struggle to get rival measures before voters As Democrats and Republicans seek political advantage ahead of the November election, an emerging front is the battle over what referendum questions will appear on the statewide ballot this fall.

Group contends bishop's homily that criticized Obama's policy crossed the lineA prominent advocate of church-state separation filed a formal complaint with the Internal Revenue Service on Thursday, accusing the Roman Catholic Diocese of Peoria of violating federal law by intervening in a political campaign.

Federal reports show where political money is as campaigns gear up for general electionMore than $4.2 million was spent this year on three Chicago-area Democratic congressional primaries, a campaign money frenzy spurred by a new redistricting map aimed at helping Democrats win back the House, campaign records showed Monday.

Church's opposition to contraception coverage requirement isn't personal or political, George saysDays after the nation's Roman Catholic bishops announced a campaign to counter threats to religious freedom, Chicago's Cardinal Francis George tried to explain the church's concerns about recent mandates from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

'The best of the nation leave, if they can'— I traveled to Greece to see the land of my fathers, to see its beauty and its economic crisis firsthand.

Secretary of State Jesse White does not plan to personally pressure political protege Rep. Derrick Smith to resign in the face of federal bribery charges, a spokesman said Thursday.

U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. defeated a longtime political rival Tuesday night, while suburban Democrats chose contenders for what are expected to be three tough contests against Republican representatives this fall.

'I have no idea if I'm going to like it,' he says of holding 1st public officeIt's not often a first-time candidate for an obscure public office gets endorsed by the city's Democratic powerhouses, but that kind of political mojo comes easier when you're related to the two longest-serving mayors in Chicago history.

Candidates for state supreme court square offPerhaps not surprisingly, the candidate for Illinois Supreme Court who has tried the hardest to make the race about campaign cash is the contender who has raised the least of it.

Accounting firm finds there's still room for improvement, howeverThe DuPage Water Commission has made significant strides toward cleaning up a recent financial fiasco, but the agency can benefit from further reforms that would increase transparency and improve operations, according to a report released Wednesday.

Republicans are battling in several suburban primariesTwo years ago, state Sen. Kirk Dillard came close to becoming the Republican nominee for governor. Now the veteran lawmaker from Hinsdale is fighting for his political life thanks to a primary challenge by Rep. Chris Nybo, of Elmhurst.

Political action committees that act independently of a candidate are not bound by Illinois' limits on campaign contributions aimed at curbing corruption, a federal judge ruled Tuesday.

Many on social networks surprised to find ideological discord, poll finds, but most avoid shouting matches Have you ever assumed a Facebook friend shared your views on the 2012 election, only to discover they lean in a totally different — and, of course, wrongheaded — direction?

Longtime Emanuel backer consults for firm that stands to make millions from city's push for traffic devicesWhen Rahm Emanuel was a first-time candidate for Congress, Greg Goldner was behind him, quietly marshaling the patronage troops that helped get him elected. When Emanuel ran for mayor, Goldner was there again, doling out campaign cash to elect Emanuel-friendly aldermen to City Council.

Out in a new congressional district that spans Aurora, Naperville and Joliet, a Democratic scientist is trying to get back in the political game and a veteran Republican lawmaker is trying to hang on.

If long-shot candidate can beat House speaker, era of Chicago bosses might be finally at an end The young underdog in the state's remarkable David vs. Goliath political campaign met me for lunch so I could ask her about her qualifications against the grizzled and terrible warlord.

Muddled Super Tuesday results to prompt campaign fight unlike any state has seen in decades Hours before Mitt Romney captured a narrow-but-essential victory in Ohio's Super Tuesday Republican presidential primary, a political action committee pushing his candidacy went up with TV ads in Chicago and around the state.

Report also lists other factors for suspect's deathFour months after Darrin Hanna's death sparked political turmoil in North Chicago, the Lake County coroner on Wednesday confirmed that wounds inflicted by police were partly responsible for the death.

On a makeshift stage at the last Democratic National Convention, U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. put on an impassioned show of party unity by hugging his political foes, including Debbie Halvorson.

Chicago newsman whose career included stints in print, radio and TVIn a 60-year journalism career that spanned print, television and radio, John Madigan made his name interviewing the political elite in a sharp, straightforward manner that was critical but never rude.

DuPage high school grad among 5 charged with high-profile cyberattacksAt the time of his latest arrest, Jeremy Hammond was living on Chicago's South Side, about three dozen miles and an entire political spectrum away from the conservative DuPage County community where he grew up.

Cook County commissioner accused of pocketing campaign funds without paying federal taxesCook County Commissioner William Beavers, an old-school ward boss who often bragged about his political dominance with a barnyard reference to his virility, was indicted Thursday on charges he pocketed campaign funds and a county stipend without paying federal taxes.

The temptation is to look at the now-indicted Bill Beavers, the unrepentant and self-described "Hog with the Big Nuts," and see what you want to see, if all you're looking for is one of the last Chicago political rogues.

Halvorson calls comments result of desperate re-election campaignU.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr.on Monday touted the backing of more than 50 ministers, including one who said "political demonic forces" were driving the agenda of Democratic primary opponent Debbie Halvorson.