State Week

State Week episodes:

• 04.26.2024

  State Week: The Bears make their stadium pitch; Gov talks pensions

  Will lawmakers agree to put public money toward the stadium project? Also, the governor said a state pension law that lowered benefits may need to be revisited.

  
• 04.19.2024

  State Week: As the U.S. Supreme Court deliberates, Illinois corruption cases hang in the balance

  A U.S. Supreme Court decision in an Indiana case could impact the prosecutions in Illinois and elsewhere.

  
• 04.12.2024

  State Week: DCFS makes a push for improvement

  A new director, additional funding and hiring more workers at Illinois' child welfare agency.

  
• 04.05.2024

  State Week: Governor continues his push for a new state agency

  Gov. J.B. Pritzker wants a Department of Early Childhood in his cabinet.

  
• 04.05.2024

  State Week: Governor continues his push for a new state agency

  Gov. J.B. Pritzker wants a Department of Early Childhood in his cabinet.

  
• 03.29.2024

  State Week: The Illinois Prisoner Review Board under scrutiny

  A boy's murder is shining a spotlight on how a state panel handles domestic violence cases.

  
• 03.22.2024

  State Week: A primary election recap

  On this episode, we look back at election results from the past week.

  
• 03.15.2024

  State Week: Bring Chicago Home referendum goes before voters

  Our panel discusses the referendum, Chicago's migrant situation and a new revenue estimate for state government.

  
• 03.08.2024

  State Week: For most voters, the primary elections offer few choices

  In Illinois judicial and legislative contests, the lack of competition is the highest it has been in at least 20 years.

  
• 03.01.2024

  State Week: Trump, politics and the ballot

  The former president is appealing a court decision that he should be removed from the primary ballot.

  
• 02.23.2024

  State Week: The governor's budget plan

  Gov. J.B. Pritzker unveiled his nearly $53 billion budget this week. But not everyone is on board.

  
• 02.16.2024

  State Week: Former Madigan Chief of Staff sentenced

  Tim Mapes was found guilty last year of lying to a grand jury investigating Michael Madigan and others.

  
• 02.09.2024

  State Week: The push to end the subminimum wage for tipped workers

  On the heels of Chicago approving a phase out of the lower wage, advocates want to end it statewide.

  
• 02.02.2024

  State Week: Trump stays on the Illinois ballot

  While Illinois election officials decided against an effort to remove the former president based on the U.S. Constitution's 14th Amendment, he faces other legal challenges.

  
• 01.26.2024

  State Week: Tensions mount in Chicago over the migrant crisis

  Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Mayor Brandon Johnson continue to spar over efforts to find housing for migrants who have arrived in Illinois.

  
• 01.19.2024

  State Week: The legislative session begins

  Illinois lawmakers will have a light session schedule until the March primary election is over. They are scheduled to wrap up work in May.

  
• 01.12.2024

  State Week: Dangerous cold raises concerns about migrant safety

  Temperatures are forecast to dip below zero through early in the week.

  
• 01.05.2024

  State Week: Gun registry numbers, DCFS change and Madigan trial delayed

  We recap the first week of 2024, including how many assault weapon owners in Illinois registered the weapons under a new law.

  
• 12.27.2023

  State Week: The year in review

  It was a tumultuous year in Illinois government and politics. The state also repeatedly made national headlines.

  
• 12.22.2023

  State Week: Illinois and corruption

  Former longtime Chicago Alderman Ed Burke was convicted this week on charges that included racketeering and attempted extortion. It's the latest in a string of convictions in Illinois' long history with public corruption.

  
• 12.15.2023

  State Week: A rare win for abortion opponents in Illinois

  Illinois' attorney general this week agreed to drop enforcement of a new law that targeted what are often called crisis pregnancy centers.

  
• 12.08.2023

  State Week: State shuts down work at migrant shelter site

  There is more focus on Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and his working relationship with Gov. J.B. Pritzker.

  
• 12.01.2023

  State Week: Pritzker and the state's economy

  The governor spoke at an event, saying "Illinois is back" and his administration is bringing jobs to the state. But how much credit does he deserve?

  
• 11.22.2023

  State Week: Report puts focus on juvenile detention centers

  Despite audit findings that raise concerns, there are questions about oversight and which agency can bring about change.

  
• 11.17.2023

  State Week: Illinois to spend more on helping asylum seekers

  Gov. Pritzker this week announced an additional $160 million in state spending on the migrant crisis.

  
• 11.10.2023

  State Week: Fall session roundup

  Illinois lawmakers have left the statehouse and won't return until January. What did they do and what did they leave on the table?

  
• 11.03.2023

  State Week: Pritzker on the national stage

  Gov. J.B. Pritzker's profile has been on the rise in Democratic circles as he has been able to move his progressive agenda in Illinois.

  
• 10.27.2023

  State Week: Legislative staff unionization effort inches forward

  The Illinois House approved the plan, but it faces a less certain future in the Senate.

  
• 10.20.2023

  State Week: Governor leaves the door open to extending private school tax credits

  The program sunsets at the end of 2023.

  
• 10.13.2023

  State Week: Who will pay the cost of caring for migrants?

  Amid speculation the state could come up with more money to help Chicago, the Illinois House Speaker this week said there is no plan to approve a supplemental budget during the upcoming fall session.

  
• 10.06.2023

  State Week: Chicago's migrant crisis grows as winter nears

  The arrival of asylum seekers has ramped up in the city. Gov. JB Pritzker called the situation "untenable."

  
• 09.29.2023

  State Week: Election officials try to get ahead of misinformation

  The state is still six months away from the presidential primary. We also discuss new rules for those wanting to keep assault weapons in Illinois and a step forward for legislative staff seeking to unionize.

  
• 09.22.2023

  State Week: Illinois ends cash bail

  The state became the first in the nation to make the change. We discuss how things went in the first few days.

  
• 09.15.2023

  State Week: Illinois' business climate; Chicago's mayor at a critical juncture

  Gov. J.B. Pritzker says Illinois is "open for business." We look at the state's efforts to be a leader in the growing electric vehicle industry.

  
• 09.08.2023

  State Week: Illinois celebrates $2 billion EV battery plant; Madigan to leave his last final elected office

  State leaders say landing the plant in Manteno boosts Illinois' role in the electric vehicle ecosystem.

  
• 09.01.2023

  State Week: Nuclear power bill veto; seeking help for migrant families

  On this episode, we talk about the governor giving a thumbs down to a measure that would have lifted the state's ban on nuclear power plant construction. We also discuss Chicago's efforts to deal with a growing migrant population.

  
• 08.25.2023

  State Week: A guilty verdict in the Mapes trial; White Sox could be looking for a new home

  Tim Mapes, who was Chief of Staff to former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan, faces several years in prison. Listen to our panel discussion.

  
• 08.18.2023

  State Week: Politics at the Illinois State Fair

  Both Democrats and Republicans held their annual rallies. The differences in the parties was on display.

  
• 08.11.2023

  State Week: A win for Illinois' assault weapons ban; Mapes trial begins

  The state's highest court handed down a decision Friday that keeps the state's ban on the sale of assault weapons and large capacity magazines in place. But a federal challenge remains. Also, the trial for the one-time Chief of Staff...

  
• 08.04.2023

  State Week: Former top Madigan aide heads to trial

  Tim Mapes served as the ex-Illinois House Speaker's Chief of Staff.

  
• 07.28.2023

  State Week: New AFSCME deal; Audit shows $5.2 billion in overpayments

  Our panel breaks down a contract with the state's largest public employee union, the governor's push for clean energy and an audit of the Illinois Department of Employment Security that found lack of controls led to massive amount of fraud...

  
• 07.20.2023

  State Week: Court upholds the elimination of cash bail

  Illinois will become the first state to do away with cash bail starting in September.

  
• 07.14.2023

  State Week: Investigation finds systemic problems in Illinois' developmental centers

  On this episode, we speak with reporters from ProPublica’s Local Reporting Network in partnership with Lee Enterprises and Capitol News Illinois.

  
• 07.07.2023

  State Week: A year after the shooting that spurred Illinois' assault weapons ban

  Last year's Highland Park 4th of July parade was the scene of a mass shooting that left seven dead and injured dozens. State lawmakers responded with an assault weapons ban. Court challenges to the law continue.

  
• 06.30.2023

  State Week: Pritzker does his part for Biden's re-election

  The governor, who has touted the president and put his own ambitions on hold, held a fundraiser for Biden during his visit to Chicago. Biden heaped praise on Pritzker saying he "helped me more than anybody in America get elected...

  
• 06.23.2023

  State Week: Pritzker takes heat over immigrant health care limits

  The Pritzker Administration is limiting enrollment as a way to hold down costs. But is there a political price?

  
• 06.16.2023

  State Week: Illinois pushes back against book bans

  A law signed this week is believed to be the first in the nation prohibiting book bans at school and public libraries.

  
• 06.09.2023

  State Week: Education is a winner in new state budget

  From early childhood to higher education, the new spending plan provides more resources.

  
• 06.02.2023

  State Week: Budget deal recap

  Our panel discusses how a new spending plan made it through the Illinois legislature, an update on the Chicago Bears' efforts to move to the suburbs and Republicans in the state begin lining up behind presidential hopefuls.

  
• 05.26.2023

  State Week: Budget deal reached; Report on clergy sex abuse

  Illinois lawmakers and the governor reached agreement on a new spending plan for the fiscal year starting July 1. Also, Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul issued a scathing report on clergy sex abuse within the Catholic church.