
The Latest
How are Chicago area mass transit agencies preparing for the future after the legislature failed to pass governance reform and a plan to help close a $770 million “fiscal cliff” for 2026?
Democrats admitted the challenges in passing a budget was a challenge and clearly attempted to make President Donald Trump the “bad guy” in the state’s financial situation.
After the Senate passed a controversial Chicago-area mass transit funding bill late Saturday night, one House source texted “it’s doomed over here, not sure why they would even send it.”

The News
How are Chicago area mass transit agencies preparing for the future after the legislature failed to pass governance reform and a plan to help close a $770 million “fiscal cliff” for 2026?
Democrats admitted the challenges in passing a budget was a challenge and clearly attempted to make President Donald Trump the “bad guy” in the state’s financial situation.
After the Senate passed a controversial Chicago-area mass transit funding bill late Saturday night, one House source texted “it’s doomed over here, not sure why they would even send it.”
Around 10pm Friday night, Democrats were brewing with confidence about the chances of passing a state budget without the overnight drama that nearly derailed their budget plan a year ago.
Notes from Friday night’s House budget hearing and Saturday morning’s Senate budget hearing.
The House and Senate have each dropped a budget as the two chambers work toward final passage Saturday.

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Opinion
As Republicans in Illinois, we too often fall victim to a self-fulfilling prophecy of defeat. We get caught in a cycle of pessimism, quoting old losses instead of building new victories.
I was not paying any attention to Governor Pritzker’s COVID press briefings that had become a daily occurrence in mid-March of 2020.
One Illinois Democrat who didn’t peacock for the cameras after President Trump’s not-a-SOTU was Congresswoman Nikki Budzinski (D-Springfield).
So many of us on any side of the political spectrum, found ourselves in shock at your announcement Monday. If you're someone who believes in the power of prayer, and I believe you are, you should know just how many people are standing beside you right now.
No matter your political persuasion, Governor JB Pritzker’s FY26 budget proposal, introduced Wednesday, is a mixed bag.
