Joining the show this week is Jim Durkin. Durkin is a Republican member of the Illinois House of Representatives, and represents the 82nd District. Bill and Jim discuss the 40 billion dollar budget, What’s in it for Business?, Governor Pritzker’s willingness to make a deal, and compares Rauner and Pritzker. What will be the affect of another tax increase?
In this week’s round table segment, Bill Cameron is joined by Ray Long of The Chicago Tribune, Greg Hinz of Crain’s, Lynn Sweet and Fran Spielman of the Chicago Sun-Times. The discussion opens up with a review of the 40 billion dollar budget. Has the dam burst? Where will the casino go? What actions will Mayor Lightfoot take if this summer is very violent, especially with recent shootings on Lake Shore Drive at Fullerton.
This week’s Community Spotlight is with Nick Gale, and focus’s on the upcoming 2020 census and the importance of an accurate count.
Anita Banerji is director of the Democracy Initiative, an arm of the Forefront Organization which is trying to raise awareness. She says there are a few important reasons the census count is so important. One of those is the loss of representation on Capitol Hill. She says as it stands now, it’s likely Illinois will lose a congressional seat. If there is an under-count, that could possibly bring the number of seats lost to two.
In the budget signed by Gov. J.B. Pritzker last weekend, the state allocated $29 million towards the census effort. In a speech this week, Pritzker took a swipe at former-Gov. Bruce Rauner for not doing enough to raise awareness. He says an under-count would mean Illinois would lose federal dollars. He also believes the federal government will provide no help and contends the Trump administration is doing all it can to push for an under-count.
Because of budget constraints, the Census Bureau is planning to collect the majority of census information online, meaning door to door canvassing will be scaled back.
