CHICAGO (WLS) — State lawmakers are now down to the final week of this legislative session, grappling with how to cover a budget shortfall and also, how to avoid a doomsday deadline for mass transportation.

Transit officials have been stressing the need for hundreds of millions of dollars for the CTA, Metra and Pace to avoid massive layoffs. Lawmakers in Springfield have been feeling the sense of urgency to get things done with time running out.

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With the legislative session on track to wrap up by May 31, the pressure is on to find a way to fund mass transit.

“We’re going to have to have a fully funded, well-supported transit system, safe, affordable and reliable, you know. And you know, again, there’s no secret that we have to move with some expediency to ensure that the funding is there,” said Mayor Brandon Johnson.

Lawmakers in Springfield have been working down to the wire to pass a balanced budget in a very challenging year with revenue shortfalls and pending cuts in federal funding.

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“We’re not trying to just close the books on a budget for the state of Illinois, but we’re trying to close gaps in access and equity and accountability. And that’s not easy in a very tough fiscal environment,” said Rep. Kam Buckner, D-Chicago.

But before addressing any transit funding bills, lawmakers are working to revamp the governance for the transit agencies under a new entity replacing the Regional Transportation Authority.

The RTA says mass transit needs $771 million next year to avoid layoffs and cuts to service.

“We know, once again, that we find ourselves in a precarious budget situation, but we also know that doing nothing is not an option, and so, we’ve got some long days and nights ahead here in this last week in Springfield,” Buckner said.

Johnson is also optimistic that the city’s requests, which include a 911 surcharge tax and school funding for special education and transportation, will come through.

“You know, there’s nothing that’s guaranteed, and our work continues there to ensure that the ask that we have for the people of Chicago, that those asks become realized. Now, there’s always room to negotiate, and there’s different forms in which these asks can be delivered,” Johnson said.

Lawmakers are discussing various new revenue sources, but while negotiators talk through them, they are keeping those ideas private.

Lawmakers have until Saturday at 11:59 p.m. to pass a balanced budget. And once again, they are expecting to work right up until the end to get the budget passed.

As Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker positions himself as the foil to President Donald Trump, a look at his record as governor is telling. What it is telling is not good.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker is raising his national profile as he ponders becoming a candidate in the 2028 presidential primary, but his time leading Illinois offers plenty of evidence about his ability to govern effectively.

Or not.

Pritzker has been making campaign stops around the country. He’s positioning himself as Donald Trump’s chief antagonist, the leader Democrats need.

A billionaire heir, he has spent over $350 million of his inherited fortune to win election and reelection as governor. He’s spent tens of millions more to bring the Democratic National Convention to Chicago and to bankroll Democratic candidates, activist groups nationwide and policy proposals.

Voters wondering if they should give him a shot at a higher office should evaluate his record as governor through the lens of the key crises threatening America’s future. Here’s how he stacks up:

The economic threat

Pritzker has dismissed tariffs and tax reform as tools to protect American industry, instead favoring large subsidies and corporate giveaways.

Yet, Illinois’ 4.8% unemployment rate in April exceeded the national average of 4.2%. That unemployment rate translates into 322,000 Illinoisans looking for work, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Post-COVID job growth in Illinois has been driven largely by public sector hiring. In 2024, the only job gains came from the government as the state gained 15,600 state government jobs and 16,000 local government jobs. It simultaneously lost 16,200 jobs in professional and business services.

Securing the border

Illinois – especially Chicago – has used its sanctuary state and city status to offset people moving away. While outmigration has led to 1.6 million residents leaving the state since 2000 and contributed to nearly a decade of population decline, the recent influx of international migrants has padded the population. Rather than accept responsibility and work to improve reasons people move, Pritzker has claimed the Census itself is inaccurate in its reporting.

The state is now home to an estimated 530,000 undocumented immigrants, according to the Center for Immigration Studies. It has spent more than $2.6 billion on migrant services. In some cases, undocumented migrants are receiving benefits that many legal residents, struggling with their own challenges, do not.

Economic growth

Illinois lags the nation in nearly every key post-COVID economic metric and has become the “sick child” of the Midwest. Since Pritzker took office in 2019, the Illinois economy has grown 4.4% in real terms; three times slower than U.S. growth of 12.2%. The “Rich States, Poor States” report from the American Legislative Exchange Council ranks Illinois 46th in economic outlook for 2025 and 47th in economic performance during the past decade.

Taxes and government growth

Illinois has hiked taxes and fees over 70 times since 2010 costing residents $110 billion. But rather than solving the state’s fiscal problems, the tax hikes have simply fueled more government spending. Pritzker has raised taxes and fees 49 times, compared to nine times under Gov. Bruce Rauner and 12 under Gov. Pat Quinn, even after receiving over $15 billion in federal COVID funds.

Under Pritzker, state spending has grown 36%. By comparison, spending under Rauner increased just 8%, and 15% under Quinn.

Debt and fiscal responsibility

Illinois owes $144 billion in state pension debt, though actuaries estimate the load could be much higher. Its total state and local pension debt is about double that of all neighboring states combined. Year after year, Illinois budgets rely on short-term fixes and deferred obligations. Even after receiving an extra $35 billion from a combination of pandemic federal relief and higher than expected revenues, the state is facing a budget deficit in 2026.

For example, Pritzker’s proposed budget is $5.1 billion less than the actuarially required pension contribution needed to make real progress on reducing the long-term shortfall.

Public safety

Illinois became the first state in the country to completely eliminate cash bail, while failing to implement protections for victims, witnesses or police officers. In the Midwest, it has the highest robbery rate and the second-highest murder rate. Chicago leads the nation in murders, school-age child homicides and mass shootings among major cities.

Public education

Illinois public schools are among the highest funded in the nation, but also among the worst performing. The state spends an average of $21,800 per student – 16% to 64% more than neighboring states. Chicago Public Schools spends more than $30,000 per student. Less than one-third of Illinois third graders could read at grade level.

Pritzker became the first governor in the country to eliminate a school choice program when he let the statewide Invest in Kids tax credit scholarship program expire. It was helping over 15,000 low-income families access schools that best met their needs, leaving needy families and students scrambling.

The threat to democracy

Despite promising to only approve a fair legislative district map, Pritzker backtracked and passed another gerrymandered map to keep his peers in power. Democrats hold a veto-proof majority in the Illinois General Assembly and Pritzker donates heavily to Democratic campaigns as well as statewide referendums.

Pritzker issued more than 100 executive orders during his tenure – including extending COVID emergency powers more than 40 times – long after other states ended their declarations, effectively granting himself unchecked power.

Economic inequality

Equity has been a stated priority in Illinois government since at least 2019, when Pritzker took office. Yet a 2024 WalletHub study ranked Illinois dead last among states in racial equity, based on eight indicators including poverty, homelessness, labor force participation, homeownership, executive employment, household income and unemployment gaps between Black and white residents.

Conclusion: a record of decline

Pritzker’s stewardship of Illinois offers little evidence that he is prepared to handle the nation’s most urgent challenges. Voters are responding with their feet: a recent Lincoln Poll found more than 50% of Illinois residents would leave the state if they had the means.

The message is clear: Illinoisans are deeply dissatisfied with life under Pritzker. The same could become true for the nation.

Electric costs for Ameren Illinois customers across the state are likely to increase around 20% this summer.

The company said that depending on usage, the monthly bill for a typical customer could increase between 18% to 22% between June and September. That translates to somewhere in the range of $37.62 to $45.98 more on monthly bills, according to the Citizens Utility Board.

CUB said that the supply charge for customers could increase to 12 cents per kilowatt hour on June 1, a 50% increase from the current rate. Ameren said that the specific supply charge, also known as the “price to compare,” will be made public the week of May 26.

On Friday, the state’s Plug In Illinois website listed the price to compare at 12.18 cents per kilowatt hour, in line with the estimates. Ameren’s current rate, charged October through May, is 8.2 cents per kilowatt hour.

Why are Ameren Illinois electric rates going up this summer?

The increase comes after Midcontinent Independent System Operator’s planning resource auction last month showed reduced capacity for electricity across the region.

Ameren said that it is required by the state of Illinois to secure its electric capacity from generators such as MISO and pass on the costs without markup.

The price for capacity makes up more than half of a typical energy bill, according to Ameren. The increase is slated to last for four months, with prices expected to drop in October when winter rates go into effect.

CUB released a statement Thursday calling on Ameren to help customers struggling to pay their bills as a result of the price increase. It put the blame on MISO for introducing a new pricing methodology – the Reliability-Based Demand Curve – that it says compromised affordability during the last auction.

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CUB said that Ameren does not profit off of the increase in prices for electricity – only on delivery-side rate hikes, which this is not. Both Ameren and CUB said that the price increase highlighted the need for further help to increase resource supply in Illinois.

“Balanced solutions, including transmission, energy storage, renewables, natural gas, nuclear, energy efficiency, and demand response, are needed to provide residents and businesses with affordable and reliable energy,” Ameren said in a statement.

CUB is currently supporting a pair of bills in the Illinois General Assembly – SB2473 and HB3779 – that would expand energy efficiency across the state and help programs that can reduce the demand on the electrical grid. Sarah Moskowitz, executive director for CUB, said that people should check on their friends, family and neighbors to make sure that they keep cool during the hot summer months.

“High bills can be stressful, so we ask people across central and southern Illinois to check on neighbors, friends and family this summer to make sure nobody is taking risks by keeping their homes too hot,” Moskowitz said. “Long-term, this price spike just shows we’ve got to keep working for consumer protections for electric customers.”

Ameren recommends that customers explore options for flexible payment plans and other energy-saving incentives by logging on to amerenillinois.com/options.

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