State Week

Yet another proposal aims to get the state out of crisis.

Gov. Bruce Rauner issued his third budget proposal to the General Assembly this week (potential deficit: $7.2 billion). Meanwhile, a St. Clair County judge declined to rescind his order paying state employees even without the legislative authorization required in the Illinois Constitution (cost so far: $3 billion). That, a remembrance of the late Peoria Congressman Bob Michel, and more.

The Illinois Senate's "grand bargain" stumbles, Gov. Bruce Rauner fights to allow Illinois to keep going without a full budget, and Illinois businessman Chris Kennedy enters the race for governor.

Lawmakers introduced competing plans to make sure state employees can remain on the job even if there's no end to the state budget standoff. Meanwhile, Gov. Bruce Rauner is refusing to say whether he approves of the incipient budget compromise being worked out in the state Senate. And what does it say about the future of the downstate economy that Caterpillar Inc. is moving several hundred top jobs from Peoria to the Chicago area?

Attorney General Lisa Madigan is asking a St. Clair County judge to stop state employees from getting paid without a legal state budget. Could the move force a resolution of Illinois' 19-month budget impasse? Meanwhile, Gov. Bruce Rauner gave his annual State of the State address. And Rauner, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, and President Donald Trump engaged in a multimedia war of words.

This week, more talk of a potential bipartisan compromise on reaching a budget agreement - in the Senate, at least. Governor Bruce Rauner isn't commenting on it, however. Matt Dietrich of Reboot Illinois and Tony Arnold of WBEZ Public Radio join the panel.

Anti-Madigan effort fails to sway House members in speaker election. Commentary - Well! That was quite the anti-climax. After millions of Gov. Bruce Rauner’s dollars and months of Republican vituperation spent demonizing Michael Madigan, the Illinois House voted 66 to 51 last week to make the veteran lawmaker from Chicago’s southwest side speaker of the House for a 17th time. About all the anti-Madigan forces had to show for their week-long “countdown” to inauguration day was a “present” vote by

This week saw the inauguration of a new session at the Statehouse - the 100th General Assembly. Will this new term be able to solve Illinois' long-standing budget crisis? Chris Mooney, Director of the University of Illinois' Institute of Government and Public Affairs, and Lee Enterprises' Dan Petrella join the panel.

Illinois legislators are returning to Springfield for the final few days of lame duck session. Will there be a grand compromise? And what's the deal with the Illinois Republican Party's interference in the Democratic race for speaker of the House?

A year-end overview of 2016, in which Illinois finds itself in much the same situation as it was 12 months ago, but with an even deeper budget hole and increasingly dire straits for social services and higher education.