Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex. 
—   The proposed Equal Rights Amendment. It might sound simple. It’s not.

The Illinois House of Representatives on Sunday passed both a budget and a tax increase to pay for it, but both still must clear the state Senate. And the tax increase was met with an immediate promise of a veto from Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner.

A $36.5 billion plan to rebuild Illinois' crumbling finances passed a critical test on Friday, but a powerful legislative leader said no deal would be reached before a midnight deadline — meaning Illinois will enter its third consecutive fiscal year without a budget.

And it means entering dangerous territory: The state comptroller will be unable to cover basic services ordered by courts, road construction and Powerball ticket sales could halt, and the state's credit rating could be downgraded to "junk."

Wednesday is the last day of the Illinois General Assembly's annual legislative session. It also happens to mark 700 days since Illinois last had a real budget. Majority Democrats still aren’t saying whether they plan to do anything about that.

Medical marijuana has now been available in Illinois for about 18 months. But many around the state, particularly in Southern Illinois, say they can't find a doctor in their area to help them. A few groups have found a way to change that — they're now bringing doctors directly to the patients with qualifying conditions. More than 30 hopeful patients registered for a recent clinic in Shelbyvlle, held by Medical Cannabis Outreach.