The Illinois House approved a measure that would penalize possession of small amounts of marijuana with a fine instead of arrest.

State Rep. Carol Ammons (D-Urbana) comments on the state budget, beginning with her thoughts on Monday's state Senate hearing at the U of I Urbana campus on Gov. Rauner's proposed budget cuts.

The House has passed Speaker Michael Madigan's plan to cut the current budget 2.25% across the board, while allowing the governor to transfer $1.3 billion from funds earmarked for other purposes.

Raising the wage has been a hot topic for years. Illinois voters overwhelmingly supported the idea at last November's election.