Federal elections happen every two years, which unfortunately isn’t a lot of time to get things done given the plodding nature of Congress.
That context is useful when reading Wednesday’s Associated Press headline: “The Trump administration is ramping up pressure on states to change election practices.”
Capitol News Illinois also covered the issue Wednesday: “Illinois ‘reviewing’ DOJ’s threat to prosecute state election officials over noncitizen voting; Letter is latest in a series of efforts to crack down on unfounded allegations of vote fraud.”
These stories, in the same vein as the late June U.S. Supreme Court opinion preserving states’ rights to count late-arriving mail-in ballots postmarked on or before Election Day, all echo the well-settled Constitutional principle that states set their own rules for electing federal representatives while “Congress may at any time by law make or alter such regulations.”
That courts have largely rebuked executive branch efforts to administer functions typically reserved for the legislative branch – at least in this field – is mildly comforting. That the system allows for any possibility of upending rules for an election cycle that’s already underway is baffling.
While it’s true that it’s always campaign season, especially for seats that turn over every other year, the formal election cycle begins when candidates can officially declare for primaries. Valid concerns about election security and reform, much like lawmaker compensation changes being deferred to the next General Assembly, might be more widely appreciated if they were forward-looking instead of appearing as attempts to disrupt conventions midstream.
The Illinois State Board of Elections seems on solid ground in its defense of longstanding practice and state law, yet the national climate allows the perception that nothing is ever really as firm as voters might expect.
WEEKEND READ: Readers occasionally email with insightful questions or legitimate complaints about state government, and while that sometimes leads to good conversations, it’s not always column fodder, especially when the topic is so deep that 450 words wouldn’t scratch the surface. One such subject is the evidence-based funding formula for public schools, a complex concern I find interesting but difficult to explore here.
As such, I commend Thursday’s spectacular in-depth piece from CNI veteran Peter Hancock. Approaching the 10th year of the system, Hancock found much progress in wealth-based disparities in per-pupil spending, but also noted that people living in lower-wealth districts face steep property tax rates compared to other Illinoisans. Even though we’ve increased overall funding by more than $3 billion, 537 districts (64%) remain below 90% of the statistical adequacy rate.
EBF has certainly improved some conditions, but it’s equally clear that significant challenges remain. Data analysis like Hancock’s hopefully moves these conversations in a positive direction. Find it at tinyurl.com/CNI-EBF.
• Scott T. Holland writes about state government issues for Shaw Local News Network. He can be reached at sholland@shawmedia.com.
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July 11, 2026 at 10:07AM
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