When a loved one dies, laws cover how their houses, cars, and other property are passed on to relatives. But the rules are murkier — and currently far more restrictive — when it comes to pictures on Facebook, emails to friends or relatives and even financial records stored in online cloud accounts.

For the first time in recent history, Illinois Republicans are vastly outspending Democrats in fall legislative races with the help of a wealthy governor determined to curtail a traditionally blue political landscape that has thwarted his agenda for two years.

Brian Nelson’s years in solitary confinement left him terrified of other people, and he says he can still taste the concrete dust from his cell, even though he’s been free since 2010.

Thanks to the cash-strapped state’s decision to stop mailing renewal reminders, Illinois motorists have paid nearly $5 million this year for failing to renew vehicle license plates on time, more than double the amount collected in the same three-month span last year.