State Week

Hospital beds across the state continue to fill with COVID-19 patients, and an investigation has been announced to look into the deadly breakout in the LaSalle Veterans' Home. Michael Madigan says he has no intention of stepping down as House Speaker, although he may not have the votes needed to keep that position the next time the Legislature meets. WBEZ's Dave McKinney joins the panel this week.

This week, a Michael Madigan confidant and three others were indicted in an alleged bribery scheme that prosecutors say also involved the powerful House Speaker, known as Public Official A in federal documents. Madigan again denied he's done anything wrong and he's not been charged. But more House Democrats have publicly pulled their support for him, making it seem less likely he can win another term in the leadership post in January. There have also been calls for him to resign as the state's

This week, Governor J.B. Pritzker admonished Illinoisans who continue to flout COVID-19 mitigation measures and warned that he soon may have no choice but to order another stay-at-home directive. Meanwhile, the Pritzker administration is left with a huge budget problem to deal with, especially with the failure of the governor's proposed graduated income tax amendment. Dan Vock, reporter and author of the States of Crisis newsletter, joins the panel.

The election saw disappointing results for Democrats at the state level, especially the failure of Governor J.B. Pritzker's proposed change to a graduated income tax. And House Speaker Michael Madigan is under increasing pressure to step down as head of the state Democratic party. The State Journal-Register 's Bernie Schoenburg joins the panel.

This week saw a continued rapid rise in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations around the state, and ten out of the eleven regions in the Restore Illinois Plan will be under stronger mitigation measures by the end of the weekend. There has been a record volume of early voting and voting by mail in the state ahead of Tuesday's election, and many eyes are watching Democratic Illinois Supreme Court Justice Tom Kilbride’s bid to retain his seat. Ray Long of the Chicago Tribune joins the panel.

This week, the rise in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations prompted Governor J.B. Pritzker and the Illinois Department of Public Health to impose increased mitigation measures in regions around the state. State officials also revealed their plans for distributing a vaccine when one becomes available. The election is just over a week away, and the ballot referendum on moving the state to a graduated income tax continues to be a focus of attention.

This week, the pandemic saw a resurgence with a rapidly rising statewide positivity rate and a record number of new coronavirus cases in a single day. Amid the state's growing budget woes, tax revenues from legal marijuana sales continue to bolster state coffers. And the two candidates vying for Illinois' 13th congressional district seat ramped up their criticisms of each other. Mark Maxwell of WCIA-TV joins the panel.

This week, Illinois Republicans expressed outrage at the decision to put an Illinois House committee investigating House Speaker Michael Madigan on hold until after the November elections. Meanwhile, the public's vote on Governor J.B. Pritzker's proposal to move Illinois to a graduated income tax draws nearer, and this week the governor released his proposals for criminal justice reform. A.D. Quig of Crane's Chicago Business joins the panel. Note: A group seeking to derail Governor JB Pritzker’s

Questions about the connection between Democratic Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan and a bribery scheme by energy giant Commonwealth Edison continues to create problems for the Speaker. Republicans claim a House investigative committee is protecting Madigan, and representative Stephanie Kifowit announced she intends to challenge his position as the leader of the chamber. The Chicago Sun Times ' Rachel Hinton joins the panel.

This week, Governor Pritzker's administration warned that if its proposed graduated income tax vote fails, income taxes on everyone in the state will have to be raised. Also, with the continuing extensions of the statewide eviction moratorium, landlords are facing problems paying their mortgages. WBEZ's Michael Puente and reporter Hannah Meisel join the panel.