To conclude our preview of Governor JB Pritzker's State of the State and budget address, we were joined by an Illinois Statehouse reporter and the associate director of the Government Finance Research Center at UIC to talk more about what we can expect and to put the governor’s remarks in context.

The Illinois governor’s race is heating up.  We’re now five months away from the primaries which take place June 28th, and 10 months until the election on November 8th, and over the past week, money has begun to pour in. Today, The 21st was joined by two statehouse reporters from central Illinois to bring us up to speed on the latest developments.

Early Sunday morning, the Illinois General Assembly wrapped up a four-day legislative session. Activity was relatively limited: passing a budget, changing a few voting laws, and approving curbside ordering of cocktails during the pandemic. Wearing masks and keeping socially distant, lawmakers conducted session without the usual swarm of lobbyists, activists, and members of the public to bear witness. But Statehouse reporters were keeping tabs — mostly from a distance — and two joined us to recap the session.