Under the Dome

On this week's episode of Under the Dome, we talk about:

* State Rep. Jeanne Ives' new controversial ad that has everyone talking.

* How the wiretapped conversations between J.B. Pritzker and Rod Blagojevich continues to be the gift that keeping on giving for Republicans (and Pritzker's Democratic opponents in the governor's race).

* Gov. Bruce Rauner's budget address set for Feb. 14.

On this week's episode of the Under the Dome Podcast:

* The chairman of the Illinois Lottery Control Board gets in hot water for a tweet about East St. Louis. 

* We review Gov. Bruce Rauner's State of the State address.

* Rauner and Rep. Jeanne Ives had an interesting debate in Chicago.

The cinematic classic "Sharknado" came up during the governor's campaign this week, and officials are testing whether the Capitol Complex water supply is infected with Legionella bacteria. All this and more on this week's episode of The Dome. ("Sharknado" movie poster credit: By Source (WP:NFCC#4), Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=39940670

This week on Under the Dome ... The Illinois State Board of Education has made a bold request for state funding. Will they get it? Have plans for Valentine's Day? You might consider spending some quality time listening to Gov. Bruce Rauner's budget address on Feb. 14. We'll preview what he might say. Also, Gov. Rauner is debuting a new, 15-minute campaign commercial featuring a wiretapped conversation between then-Gov. Rod Blagojevich and J.B. Pritzker. We'll talk about the strategy. And finally, the governor's campaign this week made clear that Rauner thinks former KKK leader David Duke is a racist. We'll explain why that needed to be said. All this and more coming up next on this week's episode of Under the Dome.

This week on the Under the Dome Podcast:  Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner has departed the state-run veterans home in Quincy after a weeklong stay. We'll talk about what he wants to do to the aging facility. Education funding is back in the news after the governor issued an amendatory veto. Plus, Rauner has a new TV ad that takes on J.B. Pritzker. And finally, Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens (pictured) is entangled in a sex scandal today. We'll talk about how that affects an advertisement that was appearing on Illinois televisions. All this and more on this week's episode of the Under the Dome Podcast.

We're back from our holiday break to cover the latest news at the Illinois Statehouse. This week we discuss efforts in the courtroom to stop a controversial abortion funding bill from being enacted. The campaign for governor is starting to heat up again as we get closer to the March 20 primary election. We talk about the Quincy veterans home's newest temporary resident — Gov. Bruce Rauner. And finally, we'll look at the lack of legislative action at the Statehouse over the next few months. All this and more on today's episode of Under the Dome.

Candidates have turned in their nominating petitions for the March 20 primary. Now, some of those petitions are being objected to. We talk about who might get kicked off the ballot. Plus, Democratic candidate for governor J.B. Pritzker picked up some more high-profile endorsements last week. Is he going to run away with his party's nomination? And we also talk about the property tax assessments process in Chicago and how it is playing into the increasingly contentious race for Illinois governor.  All this and more coming up next on this week's episode of Under the Dome.

Candidate filing for Illinois' March primary election ended earlier this week. And one state senator surprised people by saying he's out. Or is he? Gov. Bruce Rauner, the highest-ranking elected official in Illinois, declares he is not in charge of Illinois. And local members of Congress weigh in on the sexual misconduct controversy surrounding U.S. Senator Al Franken, who announced his resignation as we taped our podcast today. All this and more on Episode 14 of Under the Dome.

On this week's episode of Under the Dome: Although you've been hearing about the election for weeks now, election season officially began this week as candidates began filing to get onto the ballot. In addition, questions swirl about how many billions the state will be spending to move Medicaid recipients into managed care. And recreational marijuana – is this something in Illinois' future?

On this week's episode of Under the Dome, we discuss the race for Illinois governor. The primary is just four months away and candidates -- including state Rep. Jeanne Ives (pictured), who is challenging Gov. Bruce Rauner for the Republican nomination -- are hitting the road. In addition, we update you on lawmakers' attempts to stop sexual harassment in state government. (While we taped this episode on Thursday morning, Rauner announced he signed two bills intended to combat harassment.) And finally, we look at the Twitter-based controversy surrounding what U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis, R-Taylorville, said about sexual harassment and what his opponent did with a portion of the comments.