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.

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. 

Representative Cheri Bustos is a Democrat representing Illinois’ 17th Congressional district, which includes parts of Peoria, Rockford and the Quad Cities. She spoke with Niala Boodhoo, host of The 21st, at the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee offices in Washington, D.C. on Thursday morning.

Representative Rodney Davis is a Republican from Illinois’ 13th Congressional district, which includes all or part of 14 counties across central and southwestern Illinois, including Champaign, Bloomington, and Springfield. We spoke to him from NPR headquarters in Washington D.C. 

The deadline to finalize an agreement over a southern border wall between the US and Mexico is fast approaching. And U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) is one of the members of Congress trying to prevent another shutdown. We spoke with Senator Dick Durbin in his Washington D.C. office on Tuesday afternoon.