* Pearson writes about Nate Silver’s latest prediction that Donald Trump has just a 20 percent chance of winning the election. Here’s the relevant Illinois part…

Illinois traditionally trends Democratic in presidential election years, and Silver’s polls-only forecast shows the state would be the 10th-most lopsided of states going to Clinton, favoring her by at least 18 percent and putting her odds of winning its 20 electoral votes at 97 percent.

In electoral-vote rich states of California and New York, Clinton’s odds are rated even better, at close to 99 percent. But if the election were held today, Silver said, Clinton’s odds in her birth state of Illinois would be 98.7 percent.

No surprise there. What’ll be most interesting to people like me is how Trump will do in contested legislative and congressional districts.

* Related…

* Sneed exclusive: Ditka politely declines Trump’s invitation: In an email to the Trump folks, Sneed stated, “Mike Ditka said he’d love to speak although he hadn’t heard from you guys yet, how about a few words from your boss. It could be great!” Thus, in a three-way conference call orchestrated by Sneed at 2:15 p.m., Trump officially invited Ditka — a huge Trump fan — to speak at the Republican convention next month.