The fact that a majority of state legislative primaries in Illinois feature either a single candidate or no candidate at all is alarming to a political science professor.

In 12 of 23 races in the Illinois Senate, the winning party is already determined because either no Republican or no Democrat filed to get on the ballot. The same is true in 67 of the 118 races in the House. The number of primaries with a single person running is now over 50%.

It’s almost Super Tuesday when voters in 16 states and one territory will cast their ballots in the 2024 presidential primaries.

Here’s why the day matters — and why it looks a little different this year.

The developer working with the White Sox to build a new stadium in the South Loop said Monday he is trying to forge a “financing partnership” with the Bears that could pave the way for Chicago to build two new stadiums at the same time.

“Wouldn’t it be unbelievable for our city if you were to see two amazing facilities for these great sports teams built at once?” said Curt Bailey, president of Related Midwest, which oversees the vacant 62-acre site known as “The 78,” where the new White Sox ballpark would be built.

There is new criticism Monday over campaign donations in the race for Cook County state’s attorney.

The two Democratic candidates are facing off over finances.

A group of suburban leaders pushed back Monday on Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s proposal to eliminate the state’s 1% grocery tax, saying it would deprive their communities of funding for public safety, roads and other services.

“The grocery tax receipts never actually get to the governor’s desk, or to Springfield. They remain in our local communities and are the lifeblood of many important programs,” said Republican state Rep. Martin McLaughlin, the former village president of Barrington Hills. “This is not a tax cut. It’s a political shell game.”

The Illinois State Board of Elections says former President Donald Trump is staying on the Illinois ballot despite being sued last week in a Cook County court.

Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court handed a win to the former Republican president by ruling that states cannot kick him off the ballot over the violent protests on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. The Illinois State Board of Elections said despite a group of voters suing the board in Cook County where a judge ruled Trump off the ballot, the Supreme Court ruling means Trump will stay on the Illinois ballot.

The average price in the Peoria area jumped up about 12.3 cents in the last week.

According to a GasBuddy survey of 148 gas stations in the Peoria area, the average price of gas was $3.57 last week. This is about 36 cents higher than a month ago and nine cents higher than a year ago.

On March 19, voting will conclude in primary contests for hundreds of seats in the Illinois legislature and in the state’s court system. But most of those contests are uncompetitive.

Statewide, 88 percent of judicial and state legislative primaries feature either a single candidate or no one running at all. This is the highest number of uncompetitive primaries for those seats in at least 20 years, according to a Capitol News Illinois analysis of data going back to 2004.