The DePaulia
Nika Schoonover, Politics Editor|January 18, 2021
Illinois State Rep. Michael Madigan, D-Chicago, casts his vote for Illinois State Rep. Emanuel “Chris” Welch, D-Hillside, to be Illinois Speaker of the House as lawmakers cast their votes for the 102nd General Assembly for the Illinois House of Representatives at the Bank of Springfield Center, Wednesday, Jan. 13, 2021, in Springfield, Ill. (Justin L. Fowler/The State Journal-Register via AP)
Illinois Democrats ousted former Speaker Michael Madigan after his nearly four decades in office when Emmanuel “Chris” Welch was elected the state’s first Black speaker of the House. Welch is tasked with bringing the House into a “new era” despite questions of his past including several harassment allegations.
The DePaulia
Nika Schoonover, Politics Editor|January 6, 2021
As Congress convened Wednesday to officially count the Electoral College votes and finalize president-elect Joe Biden’s win, President Donald Trump encouraged his supporters to aggressively storm the Capitol in support of his efforts to claim a fraudulent election.
In a scene of extreme violence and chaos, the attempted coup at the Capitol Building revealed increasingly aggressive partisanship at the tail end of a turbulent election. The mob broke down fence barricades, occupied the second-floor lobby just outside the Senate chambers and forced the evacuation of lawmakers.
The violence also resulted in the death of Ashli Babbit, a 14-year Air Force veteran who was shot at the scene. The circumstances of her shooting have not been confirmed.