Who earns median wage and what kind of education, housing, healthcare and retirement savings can they afford?

The residents of Roxana, Ill. debate if the oil refineries in and around their town represent jobs and money, cancer or something else.

Lawmakers in Illinois are poised to take up a bill to hasten construction on a new expressway. But to get the land for the highway, lawmakers may use a controversial method known as quick-take power.

But Illinois farmers give little credit to the political party in power.

Workers in Rockford, Ill., are divided on how much the auto bailout helped the local economy. Many hope yesterday's primary election might be the first step in helping factory areas in the state fully recover.

They differ on politics, but both see college as a way to help their kids do better than they have.

After February's devastating tornadoes, the feds say "no" to extra aid.

Illinois state legislators raised the state income tax from 3 percent to 5 percent, a 66 percent hike. In plain terms, if you owed the Illinois…