Illinois Public Media News

On The 21st: Yesterday Governor Pritzker gave his first budget address in Springfield before a joint session of the General Assembly. It’s the beginning of the give and take between him and state legislators and it should lead to a final budget by the end of May. Today, reactions from lawmakers on what they liked, what they didn’t like, and where there’s room for some middle ground. Plus, we’ll speak with artist and photojournalist Chris Capozziello about his exhibition, The Distance Between Us. It tells the story of what it’s like to have a twin with cerebral palsy.

Lyric Theatre at Illinois’ production of the Benjamin Britten opera “The Rape of Lucretia” opens Thursday at Krannert Center for the Performing Arts in Urbana.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker delivered his first budget address at a time of acute fiscal distress for the state of Illinois. It also comes after Democrats have taken total control of the executive and legislative branches of state government, including supermajorities in the Illinois House and Senate.

On the 21st: We broadcast live from the floor of the state capitol ahead of Governor J.B. Pritzker's first budget address. We hear from Comptroller Susana Mendoza, House Minority Leader Jim Durkin, Senate Majority Leader Kimberly Lightford, and Attorney General Kwame Raoul. Finally, we get some analysis from UIS professor Ken Kriz and Illinois Public Radio's Brian Mackey ahead of the speech. 

Health officials say teenagers are using e-cigarettes at epidemic rates. Lawmakers in a number of Midwest states, like Indiana, Illinois and Minnesota, are addressing the problem and so is the FDA. Side Effects Public Media spoke with Mitch Zeller, director of the agency's Center for Tobacco Products, about efforts to curb the use of smokeless tobacco among youth.