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May 28, 2008

Illinois Lawmakers are trying to hammer out an agreement on a state budget for the coming fiscal year in the final hours of the spring session of the General Assembly. House Republican Leader Tom Cross of Oswego joins us for his insights into what political insiders like to call the end game as the clock winds down on the month of May.

Also on this week's program:

Rich Miller, editor and publisher of the influential Capitolfax political newsletter discusses late-breaking news about the rapidly approaching end of session issues.

Illinois Lawmakers talks with the budgeteers, the leading budget negotiators for the four caucuses in the House and Senate. Democratic State Senator Donne Trotter of Chicago, the Senate's whip, debates the pros and cons of the Senate Democrats' budget proposal with Deputy Senate Republican Leader Christine Radogno of Lemont.

The Governor’s House Floor Leader, Representative Jay Hoffman of Collinsville discusses the administration's hopes of passing a $31-billioin capital plan in the final hours of the spring session with Assistant House Republican Leader Tim Schmitz of Batavia.

The Reverend Senator James Meeks, Democrat of Chicago, who chairs the Senate Human Services Committee and Assistant Senate Republican Leader Brad Burzynskiof Clare offer their views on whether there should be an increase in the state's individual and corporate income taxes.

Violence has claimed the lives of two dozen Chicago Public School Students this year. We hear from State Representative Susana Mendoza (D) Chicago and State Representative Michael McAuliffe (R) Chicago, about city and state attempts to reign in violent youth crime.

This is the last regularly scheduled episode of Illinois Lawmakers in May. A special wrap-up edition of the program will be produced following the end of the session. Watch you local listings for the date and time of this special edition of Illinois Lawmakers.

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5/21/08

The Illinois House and Senate are preparing to pass competing versions of a Fiscal Year 2009 state budget with only a few days left in before the end of May.

House Speaker Michael Madigan (D) Chicago is our leads off this week's Illinois Lawmakers program with a newsmaker interview about the House's passage of 28-budget bills on Wednesday. The Speaker says the series of House budget bills will offer the Senate a wide variety of choices to consider beginning with a "bare-bones" maintenance budget all the way up to what some lawmakers are calling a "Christmas Tree" bill with hundreds of millions in new spending. Madigan's interview is followed by a one on one discussion with Senate Republican Leader Frank Watson of Greenville who comments on the Senate Democrats' proposal to pass their own version of a maintenance budget bolstered by a $16-billion pension bond sale that would free up money for other areas of the budget.

Other guests include:

Deputy House Majority Leader Gary Hannig (D) Litchfield and Representative Rosemary Mulligan (R) Des Plaines debate the pros and cons of the "layer cake" budget proposals passed by the Democrat-controlled House of Representatives.

Senate Education Committee Chair Kimberly Lightford (D) Maywood and Senate Republican Education Spokesman Dan Cronin (R) Elmhurst discuss ongoing attempts to spend more money on Illinois schools in the face of growing demands for accountability and improved student outcomes.

House Environmental Health Committee Chair Karen May (D) Highland Park and Assistant House Republican Leader David Winters(R) Shirland review a variety of environmental issues addressed in the current legislative session.

Illinois Radio Network Statehouse Bureau Chief Melissa Hahn brings her perspective to the week's legislative news at the top of the program in an interview with program host Jak Tichenor.

Next week's Illinois Lawmakers will highlight the last-minute efforts to wrap up the spring session by May 31st or risk heading into another overtime session.

Illinois Lawmakers is the state's longest-running television program providing continuing coverage of the Illinois General Assembly and is a production of the Illinois Public Broadcasting Council.

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May 14, 2008

Illinois Lawmakers appear to be making little progress in developing the state's first capital construction program in nine years and report both houses seem to be moving in opposite directions in crafting a new operating budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1st.

Lawmakers in both houses praise the hard work of former U.S. House Speaker Dennis Hastert and former Congressman Glenn Poshard, the current SIU President, in trying to hammer out a bipartisan agreement to fund a new capital program for the state, but believe it will be very difficult to pass a bill by the end of the scheduled end of the spring session later this month. House Majority Leader Barbara Flynn Currie (D) Chicago and Senator Dale Risinger (R) Peoria have sat in on the closed door negotiating sessions on the capital bill and report little concrete progress on finding suitable revenue streams to fund the $25-billion program. Both agree the construction plan is vitally needed, but tell host Jak Tichenor it may take weeks or months to come to a final agreement.

Also appearing on this week's Illinois Lawmakers:

Senate Appropriations Two Committee Chairman Jeff Schoenberg (D) Evanston and Assistant House Republican Leader Mark Beaubien (R) Barrington Hills discuss how the House and Senate appear ready to approve vastly different versions of a Fiscal Year 2009 budget that may lead to another prolonged extended session.

Senator Dan Rutherford (R) Chenoa and Representative Bob Flider (D) are questioned about attempts to place a moratorium on prison closings in the state after the Blagojevich administration recently announced plans to close the Pontiac Correctional Center.

House Elementary and Secondary Education Chairman Mike Smith (D) Canton and Representative Suzi Bassi (R) Palatane, Republican Spokeswoman on the House Elementary Education Appropriations Committee describe the need for a capital bill to replace crumbling school buildings around the state and the difficulty in finding new education dollars in the current economic slowdown.

Next week's Illinois Lawmakers (airing Wednesday night May 21 at 11:00) will provide updates on the latest budget negotiations and attempts to pass "green" legislation to address environmental concerns in the Prairie State.

Illinois Lawmakers is the state's longest-running television program providing continuing coverage of the Illinois General Assembly and is a production of the Illinois Public Broadcasting Council.

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5/7/08

Illinois Lawmakers are advancing legislation to end the state's so-called "pay to play" system of rewarding political contributors with lucrative state contracts.

Two of the bill's sponsors, Senators Don Harmon (D) Oak Park and Kirk Dillard (R) Hinsdale, join host Jak Tichenor for an onset interview to discuss the details of the bipartisan agreement during this week's Illinois Lawmakers program on WSIU Public Television (Sunday night at 6:00). Under the proposed legislation, anyone with state contracts in excess of 50-thousand dollars would be banned from contributing to the office-holder who let the contract or is making the decision on the bid. Anyone violating the law would lose their contract(s) and repeat offenders could be permanently banned from doing business with the state.

Also appearing on this week's program:

State Representatives Lou Lang (D) Skokie and Brent Hassert (R) Romeoville discuss the recent unsuccessful attempt to put an amendment on the November ballot allowing Illinoisans to recall public officials.

Senate Higher Education Chairman Ed Maloney (D) Chicago and House Higher Ed. Committee member Dan Brady (R) Bloomington address declining state support for higher education and the critical need for a capital bill to deal with over $3-billion dollars in deferred maintenance projects at state universities and community colleges.

House Insurance Committee Chair Mike Boland (D) East Moline and Senate Republican Insurance Committee Spokesman Bill Brady (R) Bloomington provide their insights into the state's growing mortgage crisis and rising gasoline prices.

Political columnist Bernard Schoenberg of Springfield's State Journal-Register newspaper offers his views on the ongoing gridlock in Springfield and how this year's spring session is likely to run well past its scheduled May 29th adjournment deadline. T

he next edition of Illinois Lawmakers will focus on efforts to pass the state's first capital program in nearly nine years. Illinois Lawmakers is the state's longest-running television program providing continuing coverage of the Illinois General Assembly and is a production of the Illinois Public Broadcasting Council.