Capitol Cast: Illinois

The race to fill the seat of retiring U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin is already getting crowded. Gov. JB Pritzker is pushing back against proposals in Texas to redraw that state's congressional district to minimize GOP losses next year. Pritzker is also traveling to North Carolina this weekend, stoking speculation about his own national ambitions. The CNI news team discusses those stories and looks ahead to the upcoming Illinois State Fair.

A new study suggests upward mobility is more difficult in Illinois than many would think. Although educational attainment and career choices have the biggest influence over a person's income potential, the economic class into which they are born also plays a role. Students from lower-income households tend to earn less than their wealthier peers, even after earning similar degrees and going into similar fields. Sarah Cashdollar, associate director of the Illinois Workforce and Education Research Collaborative, talks with CNI's Peter Hancock about the report, "Precarious Prospects."

This month marks the 60th anniversary of President Lyndon Johnson signing Medicare and Medicaid into law. At the time, Medicaid was considered to be a minor part of the bill, but it has since ballooned to become a driving force behind the entire American health care system. Now, it's about to be cut back dramatically under President Trump's recently passed domestic policy legislation. How did we get from there to here? Peter Hancock interviews Colleen Grogan, a professor and researcher at the University of Chicago, about the political history of Medicaid.

Gov. JB Pritzker is seeking a third term. Jerry Nowicki, Ben Szalinski and Public Affairs Reporting intern Jade Aubrey discuss the announcement and Aubrey's time at Capitol News Illinois.

Gov. JB Pritzker signed a $55.1 billion budget bill into law while criticizing the Trump administration for making budget planning at the state level more difficult. Meanwhile, Republican lawmakers filed a constitutional lawsuit challenging a legislative procedure known as "gut and replace," by which many major acts of the General Assembly are passed.

Protesters took to the streets in Chicago and other major cities this week as the Trump administration stepped up its efforts to carry out mass deportations of undocumented immigrants. Meanwhile, Gov. JB Pritzker went to Capitol Hill to defend the state's policies on immigration. Peter Hancock talks with Fred Tsao, of the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, about the protests and CNI's Ben Szalinski about the congressional hearings on immigration.

Illinois lawmakers closed out the 2025 spring session by passing a $55.2 billion budget and a revenue package to help pay for it. But the session was marked as much by what didn't get through the process as what did. The Capitol News Illinois team breaks down the major issues that were confronted in the final days of the session.

As the final week of the legislative session approaches, Illinois lawmakers face a daunting task of balancing a budget for the upcoming fiscal year in the face of slow revenue growth and increased demands for state services. The budget picture became even more complicated this week when the U.S. House passed a budget reconciliation bill - what President Trump calls the "big, beautiful bill" - that would slash federal spending for Medicaid and a host of other programs. Peter Hancock, Jerry Nowicki and Ben Szalinski break down the budget picture and look ahead to other issues lawmakers will try to tackle next week.

May 19 will mark the 150th anniversary of Mary Todd Lincoln, widow of the slain president, being declared legally insane and committed to an asylum outside Chicago. Historian Jason Emerson discusses his new book, "The Dark Days of Abraham Lincoln's Widow, As Revealed by Her Own Letters," published by Southern Illinois University Press.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem's visit to Springfield this week put a spotlight on the Trump administration's immigration policy while also sparking protests from immigrant rights advocates. Peter Hancock, Ben Szalinski and Jade Aubrey discuss the event and what may be at stake for Illinois' own policies regarding immigrants.