ASSOCIATED PRESS — Concerns facing Illinoisans in 2016 include the continued lack of a state budget and the November

election.

The fall election hovers over many issues affecting Illinois in 2016. That includes the Republicans’ hold on a U.S. Senate seat and Democrats’ control of a gridlocked statehouse. It also will determine whether the top prosecutor in Chicago survives fallout from a white police officer’s shooting of a black teenager.

The biggest campaign story is whether Republican U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk can hold on to his seat. In Springfield, Illinois starts the new year without a state budget after the fiscal year started six months ago.

Elsewhere, the University of Illinois is searching for stability after a year of turmoil and Chicago’s Mayor Rahm Emanuel and the city’s police department look to overcome scandal involving police-involved fatal shootings.