The battle over the Supreme Court vacancy will play a role in defining the contentious 2020 presidential race, and campaign advocacy groups on both sides of the aisle have already poured tens of millions of dollars into a fight whose outcome is almost certain, according to an analysis of spending by Fox Business.

Here’s a link to the story at Fox News.

In a statement posted to Facebook Friday morning, U.S. Rep. Mike Bost announced he has contracted COVID-19.

Here’s a link to the story at the Southern Illinoisan.

Seven Southern Illinois counties are on Illinois Department of Public Health’s list of counties considered to be at a warning level for COVID-19.

Here’s a link to the story at the Southern Illinoisan.

New York Times reporter Alex Burns revealed the highly anticipated opinion of the Biden-Harris ticket on packing the Supreme Court.

Here’s a link to the story at Fox News.

Nearly 50,000 voters in Franklin County — Ohio’s most populous county — received incorrect absentee ballots in the mail, elections officials said Friday, revealing a major glitch that appeared to affect one in five ballots the county had sent so far.

Here’s a link to the story at Fox News.

CARTERVILLE — This year’s Southern Illinois Hunting and Fishing Days at John A. Logan College has been canceled because of concerns over drawing large crowds amid the ongoing pandemic, officials announced Monday night

Here’s a link to the story.

SPRINGFIELD — The Illinois Department of Public Health announced another 1,076 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Illinois on Tuesday as the rolling seven-day test positivity rate remained at 3.8%.

Here’s a link to the story.

SPRINGFIELD — A class action lawsuit filed this week against utility giant Commonwealth Edison seeks to recover potentially hundreds of millions of dollars for consumers who were charged rates under legislation that the company has admitted was aided by a bribery scheme involving Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan.

Here’s a link to the story at the Southern Illinoisan.

A county-by-county look at lab-confirmed COVID-19 cases in Southern Illinois, updated daily. Last updated: 6:45 p.m. Tuesday, July 28.
Here’s a link to the story at the Southern Illinoisan.

Illinois county clerks are preparing to send out applications to vote by mail this week due to a new law regarding voting by mail for the 2020 General Election.

Here’s a link to the story at the Southern Illinoisan.