In this lengthy Q&A, Comptroller Susana Mendoza said, in part, “We haven’t had, and I would say this in both parties, enough fiscal discipline. And I do think that that doesn’t mean not paying for the things that we need, like again, more money for education or for social services, but it’s less money on wasteful things that aren’t really moving the needle on improving people’s lives.”

That prompted Republican state Rep. Deanne Mazzochi of Elmhurst to say, “To me, a good leader doesn’t assume things are happening. A good leader actually checks to make sure that things are happening. For you to just sit there and say, ‘Oh, well, I just assumed things were happening,’ that’s a failure of leadership. I’m sorry.”

Rockford University economics professor Bob Evans explained, “We don’t have three months trend, four months trend, six months trend, but it’s worrisome. Will more people demand to work from home? That’s going to be a problem.”

To date, at least 19 states have initiated legislation or issued executive orders banning or severely restricting the use of vaccine passports and prohibiting discrimination based on vaccine status.

“I firmly believe in following the science, and will revise my executive orders in line with CDC guidelines lifting additional mitigations for vaccinated people,” Pritzker said. “The scientists’ message is clear: if you are vaccinated, you can safely do much more.”

House Bill 4076 would make the Invest In Kids Act permanent. So far, 46 representatives from the Illinois House have cosigned the bill to keep scholarships available for low- and working-class families at a time when they’ve faced severe financial difficulties.

Under the Illinois’ Firearm Restraining Order Act, family members of an individual and law enforcement can petition the courts to remove that individual’s guns and prevent them from purchasing or borrowing guns if it is determined that the individual would pose a threat to themself or others if they were in possession of a firearm. Proposed legislation would add to that list former spouses and people who share a child with the individual.

That’s good news for state lawmakers trying to finalize the budget before their scheduled adjournment day on May 31, but it still was not enough to completely close the looming deficit in next year’s budget. Said House Majority Leader Greg Harris, “The choices are really clear. We’re either going to have to find ways to cut to fill that hole, or we’re going to have to review the proposals that the governor made to close corporate tax loopholes on wealthy individuals and corporations. Some mix of those will be required.”

“According to the Secretary of State we had 150,000 fewer trailer license applicants last year compared to the previous year and I worry that we’re going to see that number continue to decrease as people don’t register their trailers,” state Rep. Katie Stuart said.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker said he’s not looking to end the enhanced unemployment benefits that some calculate equates to nearly $20 an hour. “We’re not going to pull the rug out from under people. What we are going to do is make sure that we’re creating, promoting, as many jobs as possible.”

Pritzker said Thursday that the Chicago Cubs and White Sox will be opening special seating areas at Wrigley and Guaranteed Rate fields to accommodate fully vaccinated fans. “It will allow higher capacity and the teams can fill all of those seats.” At Busch Stadium in St. Louis, seating capacity will double May 21 to around 30,000, just in time for the Cubs series.

Jim Dey: “The more money deposited in pensions, the less city officials have to budget for core services like police, fire and public works. The more money put in pensions, the less secure those systems have become for their members. This is the nightmarish scenario outlined for 650 local pension funds in 175 Illinois municipalities in a report released last week by financial analysts at Wirepoints.”

When Gov. J.B. Pritzker and state lawmakers doubled the gas tax in 2019, they built in automatic annual increases. The next boost hits July 1. Perfect timing, as Pritzker spends $6 million to ask Illinoisans to take a drive.

Chicago and Illinois will make their case with the Treasury Department to alter American Rescue Plan guidance that in its current form would scuttle plans to repay COVID-19 related borrowing with the aid.

The Treasury’s eagerly awaited guidance lays out in 151 pages how local and state and tribal governments can use their share of the $350 billion of ARP funds.

There were 15,134 new unemployment claims filed the previous week.

The governor’s comments came a few hours before Mark Denzler, president and CEO of the Illinois Manufacturers’ Association – one of the state’s leading business groups representing employers – sent Pritzker a letter asking for an early end to the boosted unemployment benefits, which are set to expire Sept. 6.

“Conditions have changed,” Randi Weingarten said. “We can and we must reopen schools in the fall for in-person teaching, learning and support. And keep them open. Fully and safely, five days a week.” If local unions heed her call, it would be seen as a major stride in the effort to reopen schools.

Barring any significant reversals in key COVID-19 statewide indicators, including increasing hospitalizations, Illinois could enter Phase 5 as soon as June 11.

Arguing for summary judgment, attorney Laura Grochocki told the court Wednesday afternoon during a Zoom conference call that the governor is violating equal protection laws by imposing state regulations on high school sports while not leveling any on college or professional sports. Grochocki represents the mother of Trevor Till, an 18-year-old who committed suicide in October.

Corruption hurts economic growth by driving away new investment and reducing the effectiveness of public and private investment. Lower economic growth means disproportionately fewer opportunities for the working poor. States with higher public corruption convictions have higher poverty rates.

Illinois is one of only a few states that requires its own nursing license without offering reciprocity for licenses from other states, creating a costly and time-intensive obstacle for nurses. It also stops nurses from crossing state lines to get to problem areas during a pandemic.

Jim Dey: “Wirepoints, a website devoted to public policy in Illinois, last week released a report analyzing the health of municipal pensions in 175 Illinois cities…Calling the report bad news would be dramatically understating the depth of municipal public-pension woes.”