* Sun-Times…

After days of questions over whether he’d make the trip, Gov. Bruce Rauner’s campaign said he will indeed attend a rally being held by President Donald Trump on Saturday afternoon in downstate Murphysboro.

About five hours before the planned 4:30 p.m. “Make America Great Again” rally at the Southern Illinois Airport, a Rauner campaign spokesman confirmed the governor would be there, though it wasn’t clear if he would appear with Trump, or what the extent of their interaction would be — if any. […]

“In the height of political desperation, Bruce Rauner will join Donald Trump in Southern Illinois just 10 days before Election Day,” Pritzker campaign spokesman Jason Rubin said. “It’s nothing more than a Hail Mary in the last second of the game that Rauner is losing — badly.”

…Adding… My niece, Isabel Miller, interviewed a Trump supporter ahead of the rally today for the Daily Egyptian newspaper.

Isabel asked Kevin Sauls from Ridgway (who was wearing an American flag as a cape) if the president could bring something new and unique to southern Illinois. Sauls said he thinks President Trump “can help the coal, I think he can help all the industries, he can help the working man, the white people that stand up for him”…

Kevin Sauls from Ridgway, Illinois, speaks at the Trump rally in Murphysboro.

Posted by Daily Egyptian on Saturday, October 27, 2018

…Adding… I didn’t realize the Secret Service was this all-powerful…

Lt. Gov. Evelyn Sanguinetti is at the Trump rally. Asked about it after going through security, she said she wasn’t allowed to give interviews.

— Mike Riopell (@MikeRiopell) October 27, 2018

*** UPDATE 1 *** Wow…

President Trump told reporters on Air Force One they are considering canceling the rally later today in Murphysboro, Illinois. He says he spoke to Gov. Wolf, the mayor of Pittsburgh, and Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump.

— Steve Brusk (@stevebruskCNN) October 27, 2018

*** UPDATE 2 *** I’m told that the rally is still on and the president plans to go.

…Adding… More…

Spokesman for @BostForCongress tells me the #TrumpRally in Murphysboro is still on. #IL12

— Joseph Bustos (@JoeBReporter) October 27, 2018

Trump will go to Murphysboro. In Indy: "We can't let evil change our life, change our schedule," he said. "You go with a heavy heart, but you go. … So I'll go. Not that I want to go. But in reverse, I think I actually have an obligation to go." … "I will go to Illinois."

— Rick Pearson (@rap30) October 27, 2018