Page 3 - Patrick Cortesi News Today

Patrick Cortesi says the Illinois Democratic party has rooted out the kind of "old-style" politics practiced by former Illinois House speaker Michael Madigan.

Democratic Party turnover on the McLean County Board is complicating a years-long effort by the party to boost its representation as both major parties position themselves for the next election cycle. It's unlike the traditional pattern of board members, who often are incumbents term after term.

One year after the attack on the U.S. Capitol, elected officials and central Illinois residents said they remember the events of that day vividly. During a virtual vigil held by the Bloomington-Normal progressive activist group Voices of Reason, attendees recalled their thoughts at the moment a mob stormed the halls of government.

Five people, including three McLean County Board members, spoke at Monday's public hearing on the county's three proposed county board maps.

The chair of the McLean County Democrats said he is not satisfied with the proposed congressional redistricting unveiled ahead of discussion in Springfield this week.

Gov. JB Pritzker has signed off on new redistricting boundaries for state legislators. Those maps mean some Bloomington-Normal and Peoria residents will see changes in who represents them in state government.

/ McLean County is currently split between three House districts. That would increase to five under the maps released Friday. One Democrat and possibly two could wind up representing parts of Bloomington-Normal if the Democrat-drawn state legislative maps released Friday come to fruition. The new maps, released late Friday, are not finalized and could change as public hearings are held later this month. There would then be an election using the new maps, which are redrawn once every 10 years f...

Democrats in McLean County say President Joe Biden hit all the right notes in his inaugural address on Wednesday, emphasizing the message of unity is just

Patrick Semansky/pool / AP Democrats in McLean County say President Joe Biden hit all the right notes in his inaugural address on Wednesday, emphasizing the message of unity is just what the country needs after four years of Donald Trumps presidency. Patrick Cortesi chairs the McLean County Democratic Party. He watched intently as Biden took the oath to become the nations 46th president. On a scale of 1 to 10, Cortesi gave the speech an 8.5. “I’m married to a speech teacher. She would ...