After hours discussing the grand bargain budget behind closed doors, the state Senate goes home without voting. A look at how the deal is changing.

Senate leaders’ bipartisan salve to Illinois’ budget troubles is on tap for a vote in Springfield this week.

What progress have state senators made on negotiating a budget deal, and how will Gov. Bruce Rauner and House Speaker Michael Madigan react if it passes?

The conservative Illinois Policy Institute unveiled a plan Tuesday that promises to fill Illinois’ $7.1 billion budget hole, without any increase in taxes. 

State employees are in the middle of a political war on two fronts, both of which could leave workers broke. Both could also spur action that could end Illinois’ 19-month budget impasse by forcing a shutdown.

Attorney General Lisa Madigan took legal action Thursday night that could bring an end to Illinois’ long-running budget imbroglio, by initiating either a shutdown or a compromise.

Gov. Bruce Rauner largely bypassed Illinois’ myriad troubles and instead spent much of his speech Wednesday listing his administration’s achievements and calling for cooperation. 

The governor strikes a conciliatory tone in his State of State address. We get reaction from public policy professionals with different points of view.

Gov. Bruce Rauner is poised to deliver a State of the State address Wednesday expressing optimism about Illinois’ future, but his one-time compatriot Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel wants him to apologize.

Illinois residents would pay a personal income tax rate of 4.99 percent under the latest incarnation of a bipartisan proposal proffered by Senate leaders. 

Illinois’ backlog of unpaid bills exceeds $11 billion. Does Comptroller Susana Mendoza think the state can ever catch up?

Thousands of people moved out of the city and state over the past three years. Two former Illinois residents weigh in on their decisions, while another wrestles with the idea of packing his bags for good.

The Illinois Senate leaders join us to discuss their negotiations and fiscal plans for the state.

“We made some wonderful progress, also had some frustrations with lack of progress on some key items,” Gov. Bruce Rauner said of his tenure Thursday as he took to Facebook Live for a two-year review. 

Illinois’ 99th General Assembly has wrapped up for good, without ever having passed a complete state budget. 

While Illinois’ impasse thus far has been caused by a partisan divide, divergent approaches by the House and Senate to the state’s yearslong political stalemate serve to create a new potential rift, this time between the two Democratic-led chambers.