The 217 Today Podcast

217 Today: Tuesday January 5, 2021

Olivia Butts
 
Sen. Andy Manar, D-Bunker Hill, appears at an event with Gov. JB Pritzker and others in 2019. He announced Monday he will be leaving the Illinois Senate to take a job in Pritzker's administration as a senior advisor.

Sen. Andy Manar, D-Bunker Hill, appears at an event with Gov. JB Pritzker and others in 2019. He announced Monday he will be leaving the Illinois Senate to take a job in Pritzker's administration as a senior advisor. Capitol News Illinois file photo by Jerry Nowicki

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Tuesday January 5, 2021

Today’s headlines:

  • At least one controversial issue is apparently off the table for Illinois lawmakers when they return to Springfield this week.Top Democrats say they will not be pursuing an income tax increase.

  • Schools typically see a surge in substitutes and new teachers in January as winter graduates enter the job market. But in 2021, it’s unclear if that boost will come for Illinois schools suffering staff shortages due to the pandemic.

  • The Illinois economy continued its slow recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic in December. That’s according to the University of Illinois Flash Index.

In today’s deep dive, one of the few downstate Democrats in the Illinois Senate has resigned to take a position in Governor JB Pritzker’s administration. A conversation with Andy Manar of Bunker Hill.

217 Today is produced by Olivia Butts and hosted by Brian Moline. Reporting today contributed by Tony Arnold, Peter Medlin, Jim Meadows, and Sean Crawford.