A new governor. A long-time House speaker. Court-ordered state spending. It all adds up to a year unlike any other in the state of Illinois' history. Illinois Public Media's Brian Moline talks about 2015 in state politics with Statehouse Bureau Chief Amanda Vinicky.
A stopgap spending plan will keep the lights on at motor services facilities in Illinois. The bipartisan measure passed the House on Wednesday, and the Senate's headed to Springfield on Monday to vote on it.
Low-income, working parents are fighting to once again get help from the state for childcare. Since July, Illinois has drastically reduced who's eligible for the state's daycare assistance program. Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner made the change, he says, to save money.
Illinois' junior, Republican Senator Mark Kirk -- opposes the nuclear deal with Iran. But the state's senior U.S. Senator Democrat Dick Durbin, has been key in sheparding it through Congress. That's provided grist for the D.C. rumor mill. Durbin is the Senate Democrats' No. 2, what's known as the minority whip. A job at which Durbin excelled when it came to the nuclear agreement.
Even though John Cullerton went along with the pension law that on Friday was found by the state's high court to be unconstitutional ... the Illinois Senate President had always favored another approach. The Senate's top Democrat told Amanda Vinicky he plans to try again.
