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State Week: For most voters, the primary elections offer few choices

State Week 23 logo (capitol dome)
Brian Mackey
/
NPR Illinois

Illinois' primary election is March 19. A published report finds across the state, 88 percent of judicial and state legislative primaries offer only one candidate or none. The lack of competition is the highest it has been in at least 20 years.

There appear to be a few reasons for less ballot options — chief among them, redistricting. Gerrymandered political maps to benefit one party, currently Democrats, lead to districts that are not "in play." However, few see redistricting reform happening.

Our panel also discusses former President Donald Trump gaining a victory at the U.S. Supreme Court and a former Democratic state senator is sentenced for filing false tax returns.

Host Sean Crawford is joined by Professor Emeritus Charlie Wheeler and Capitol News Illinois reporter Andrew Adams.

The former director of the Public Affairs Reporting (PAR) graduate program is Professor Charles N. Wheeler III, a veteran newsman who came to the University of Illinois at Springfield following a 24-year career at the Chicago Sun-Times.
Andrew Adams joined Capitol News Illinois in February 2023 as a state government and data reporter.