Rep. Martin McLaughlin (R-Barrington Hills) won the closest House race since 2018 Tuesday, defeating Democrat Maria Peterson by 47 votes in the northwest suburban 52nd House District after Peterson continually cut into McLaughlin’s lead with late arriving mail-in ballots for the past two weeks.

Lawmakers returned to Springfield Tuesday afternoon for the second and final legislative week of 2024, the annual fall veto session. Without any vetoes from Governor JB Pritzker and no real policy urgency, many lawmakers are expecting a quiet, if not shortened, stay in Springfield.

Champaign County posted new results late Wednesday in the 104th House District race between appointed Rep. Brandun Schweizer (R-Danville) and Democrat Jarrett Clem, tightening the race even further.

The tight leads of Rep. Martin McLaughlin (R-Barrington Hills) and Rep. Amy Grant (R-Wheaton) narrowed further Tuesday as election authorities continued to report counts of late-arriving mail in ballots.

Senate Republican Leader John Curran (R-Downers Grove) says he’s concerned Democrats may try to ram a tax increase through the General Assembly during the January lame duck session to prop up mass transit systems in the Chicago area.

As the annual fall veto session kicks off Tuesday in Springfield, there isn’t much direction on what lawmakers may be taking up over the two week return to the Capitol.