The Mincing Rascals this week are Jon Hansen of WGN Radio and Block Club Chicago, Eric Zorn, Publisher of The Picayune Sentinel, Cate Plys, former staff writer at the Chicago Reader and political op-ed columnist at the Sun-Times and Tribune, and political pundit Marj Halperin. This week the Rascals talk about the upcoming DNC in Chicago and the plan to virtually nominate President Biden and Vice President Harris before the scheduled DNC. Does this decision take any juice away from the DNC? The Illinois House passed a $53.1 billion state budget early Wednesday morning. Why do lawmakers have to wait until the last minute and then hold a vote in the middle of the night? Is this what an open government should look like? Senate President Don Harmon didn’t put a measure to extend a moratorium on public school closings in Chicago to a vote because he accepted Mayor Brandon Johnson’s promise not to shut down any schools or deplete funding for selective enrollment schools. Was this a win for Mayor Johnson? The Madison County (Illinois) Board will place a symbolic advisory referendum on the November ballot that will ask voters if they should explore separating from the Chicago area. What do the Rascals make of this effort? The Washington Post dug into some data about America’s best decade. When do the Rascals think the nation peaked? And does it follow the data? And what decade delivered the best music? The gang debates!