Springfield, IL (CAPITOL CITY NOW) – ICE is doing what ICE is doing. Republicans say it’s because Gov. JB Pritzker is so awful, and Democrats say it’s because President Trump is so awful.

“It’s a messaging battle,” says Matt Geras, an associate professor of political science and statistics at University of Illinois Springfield. “I think in our modern era a lot of people have predispositions, and oftentimes they tune in to media that supports their pre-existing positions, and I think one way that we try to distinguish that is by turning to reputable news outlets as opposed to using social media.”

One headline – perhaps the headline – of 2026 will be the U.S. Senate race, a race without U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.).

“Anytime you have an open seat, and particularly in a state like Illinois, where our incumbents serve long periods of time that creates kind of an opening where many candidates kind of want to move up the political ladder,” Geras said, “so I think that creates a pretty competitive primary race, where we are going to see a lot of Democrats, and even Republicans, too.”

The Illinois primary is March 17.