Middle of It

Listen here for updates on the Illinois public transit funding saga, with some new insights on what it will take for an ultimate compromise by the spring of 2026. In the recent House Executive Committee hearing, legislators and transportation officials had one of their most publicly blunt conversations over both the policy and process of public transit reform and funding. This is a public episode....

In this episode, we review how the Nicor rate increase litigation is a sign of what’s to come for a wide range of energy issues impacting Illinois residents. Not only will the proposed rate increase have an immediate financial impact, but we now have more insights into how state clean energy policies will be interpreted and enforced when it comes to multi-million dollar development investments by...

How to get more people to vote, especially in local elections? Tune in to learn more about what happens when well-intentioned election law proposals meet the practical realities of elections. And be ready to think about how much state and federal politics should influence local government elections. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to...

In this extended edition, we take a deeper dive into pending Illinois energy policy changes aimed at adding energy capacity, expanding clean energy, and reducing capacity pricing. Learn more about the complicated pressures on energy pricing and capacity development along with the stakeholder arguments and obstacles to legislation passing this fall. This is a public episode. If you would like to di...

Significant changes are coming to Illinois energy policies that will effect energy bills and related economic development opportunities. Pressure is on for possible legislation to pass in October. Tune in here to learn more about the potential for adding energy capacity, expanding clean energy, reducing capacity pricing. For a deeper dive into the stakeholder arguments and obstacles to legislation...

On just one of the deadline days this month for Chicago Public Schools (CPS), this special episode covers the CPS budget proposal released August 13th, with a mix of cuts and hope for city and state funding support. For an extended review of CPS structural issues, check out our August 1st CPS podcast. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access...

(DISCLAIMER: content contains descriptions of violence and coarse language) This episode links new state laws on police hiring and cash bail to the case of a former white officer charged in the 2024 fatal shooting of an unarmed Black woman. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit ilcapitolgroup.substack.com

This episode chronicles the Chicago Bears' saga to secure a new stadium, highlighting their fluctuating focus between a lakefront location in Chicago and a suburban site as well as linchpin state legislation with tricky politics to navigate in the coming months. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit ilcapitolgroup....

This episode covers another $700 million-plus local government issue that the Illinois state legislature is being pressured to help correct. Learn more about the complicated Chicago education landscape that will likely require a solution soon that involves structural changes to the largest school district in Illinois and potentially education funding statewide. This is a public episode. If you wou...

This episode covers the complications of affordable housing policies. While the focus is on Illinois, many of the same overlapping federal, state, and local considerations are present throughout the nation. Tune in to learn more about how (i) tax credits can have a dual benefit for renters and developers, (ii) homeless housing initiatives may struggle more over the next year, and (iii) implementat...

This episode provides an overview of three education policy debates, technically being negotiated separately, but with many of the same stakeholders. Listen to how higher education evidence-based funding, community college bachelor’s degrees, and new high school graduation mandates may shape the next decades of education in Illinois. And for deeper dives into each individual policy area, be sure t...

This episode unpacks the growing tension around Illinois’ upcoming foreign language requirement for high school students, part of a sweeping 2021 education reform package pushed by the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus. We look at the challenges schools face, the policy’s original goals, and what it reveals about how political influence and stakeholder input shape education decisions. This is a pu...

This episode provides an overview of three significant policy reforms that were started but not completed by the Illinois legislature this spring. With some needing to be addressed before the end of the year and others guaranteed to be debated again by at least next spring, learn more about how Illinois lawmakers will be addressing Medicaid, mass transit, and energy transmission. For deeper dives...

This episode explores the Illinois Governor’s proposal that would allow community colleges to provide bachelor’s degrees. Learn more about the intended benefits for nontraditional students and high-demand workforce fields set against the backdrop of a variety of concerns raised by lawmakers regarding property taxes, MAP grant funding, and potential negative impacts on universities like Chicago Sta...

In this extended edition of the Investing in Illinois Higher Education episode, we look into the legislative stakeholder debate even more. Listen to how the proposed first-in-the-nation funding model was developed and the details of how it could work, as well as an alternative proposed by the state’s flagship university system. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other...

This episode explores the legislative stakeholder debate over how Illinois can deploy limited higher education resources most effectively. Listen how arguments for a proposed first-in-the-nation funding model are balanced against concerns from and for the state’s flagship university system. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus ep...

Escucha aquí un análisis en profundidad de los cambios significativos en la política sanitaria federal y estatal relacionados con la cobertura de Medicaid y de la Ley de Cuidado de Salud Asequible, especialmente aquellos cambios que afectan a inmigrantes, no ciudadanos y beneficiarios de DACA. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus...

Listen here for an extended version of our deep dive into the significant changes to federal and state healthcare policy, especially those changes impacting Medicaid and Affordable Care Act (ACA) Marketplace coverage. In particular, the impact on Illinois is highlighted, with its state legislature passing a conservative Medicaid bill this spring in anticipation of looming federal funding cuts. The...

Listen here for a detailed overview of significant changes to federal and state healthcare policy, especially those changes impacting Medicaid and Affordable Care Act (ACA) Marketplace coverage. In particular, the impact on Illinois is highlighted, with its state legislature passing a conservative Medicaid bill this spring in anticipation of looming federal funding cuts. The federal budget, signed...

Prescription benefit managers are often blamed for higher drug prices, and Illinois recently enacted a new law to reform PBMs and rehabilitate “pharmacy deserts.” In this episode, we look directly at the legislative debate of the main stakeholders involved in the legislation this spring, which was signed into law on July 1, 2025. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with oth...

Substantial reform is on the horizon for a little-known program that is meant to help expand patient access to healthcare with savings from discounted drug prices. We take directly from legislative debate over how Illinois can regulate the federal 340B drug pricing program, which stalled in the House after passing the Senate unanimously in the final days of the spring session, but is likely to ret...

Left unfinished at the end of the spring session deadline, the Illinois legislature will have to resolve the threatened implosion of Chicagoland public transit with a governance reform package that addresses public transit investment statewide. We take directly from legislative debate in the final hours of the spring session, where a proposal passed out of the Senate chamber but stalled in the Hou...

Take a deep dive into the $55 billion Illinois fiscal year 2026 budget to hear how the money moves and impacts Illinois residents. We pull directly from legislative debates in the midnight hours of the spring legislative session deadline. Of note, the budget passed both chambers at the end of May 2025 and was signed into law by the Governor for the start of the fiscal year on July 1, 2025. This is...

Listen here for a deep dive into the transmission grid policy debate in the Illinois legislature at the end of the spring session, which will be a crucial element for the state's energy future, particularly given increasing energy demand driven by data centers and clean energy goals. This debate features stakeholders like transmission project developers such as EnergyRe (SOO Green) and Invenergy (...

The Illinois Commerce Commission is a state agency that regulates public utilities in Illinois to ensure consumers receive adequate, efficient, reliable, safe, and cost-effective utility services. The agency's monthly agendas include setting rates, implementing regulatory policies, and overseeing various utility services, and their meetings between December 2024 and July 2025 certainly resulted in...