Illinois Congressman Peter Roskam has been following the budget battle in Springfield from afar and decided to send a letter to the leadership asking for some sanity. He joined John to talk about the letter and also shared his reaction to the 2016 Presidential race. (Listen here)
After sitting down with Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner for the first time since December, Democratic House Speaker Michael Madigan exited out the back door, providing no status update on Tuesday’s hourlong gathering. Instead, he took to the House floor to rip Rauner. Illinois House Republican Leader Jim Durkin joined John to talk about the latest in the budget battle. (Listen here)
The Chicago Bulls wrapped up their season last night, next year they will heard here on 890 WLS. Bulls play-by-play voice Chuck Swirsky joined John with a preview of the Bulls next season and also reacted to the Golden State Warriors breaking the Bulls record for most regular season wins and Kobe Bryant calling it a career in LA. (Listen here)
Adam LaRoche is giving his first interview since he retired from the White Sox. Basically the gist is he realizes he was pretty fortunate that he was allowed to spend so much time with his son during the season, but that’s how he wanted to play and if he couldn’t do that he didn’t want to play anymore. It also turned out LaRoche and a former teammate spent some of their offseason in Thailand helping to rescue child sex slaves. Michael Manning is with “Destiny Rescue,” a local organization that does similar work. He joined John with reaction to the LaRoche side project. (Listen here)
John Cullerton is floating a plan to tax Illinois drivers based on the miles they drive. The gas tax is supposed to pay for roads, but because people are driving cars that are more fuel efficient and even electric cars the amount of money the state is taking in has been dropping. In typical Illinois fashion, they aren’t talking about getting rid of the gas tax, that would be crazy talk. This would be on top of the gas tax. Drivers would have a transponder on their car, and you’d be charged for every mile you drive outside of the tollway system.
Licensed strays that have microchip identification would be spared a ride to the city pound if two aldermen have their way. Aldermen Edward Burke and Raymond Lopez submitted a proposed ordinance Wednesday calling for pets to be returned to their owners at no charge if they’re picked up by Animal Care and Control officers within three miles of home and they’re licensed with an ID microchip embedded in their bodies.
The Chicago Police Accountability Task Force released their report on the aftermath of the Laquan McDonald shooting. They say many residents “felt like the police do not respect their humanity.” Also, the CPD has no effective management tool for dealing with problem officers because its disciplinary systems are ineffective.
Ohio University’s upcoming Greek Week were suspended indefinitely after pro-Donald Trump messages appeared on campus. If you’re thinking “It’s stupid for them to cancel an event because someone put up pro-Donald Trump messages,” just wait, it gets worse. The messages, like “Build the Wall” and “Trump 2016” appeared on the school’s special graffiti wall, which is supposed to be dedicated to free speech.
A woman was caught on camera screaming at an airport employee after her flight was delayed for 12 hours. She was just a little upset because she and her family were trying to catch a Disney cruise in Miami. LaGuardia was shut down by strong winds, so it wasn’t exactly the airlines fault.
Ringo Starr has canceled an upcoming concert in North Carolina in response to the “bathroom bill,” which critics say places restrictions on members of the LGBT community. He’s joining Bruce Springsteen and Canadian albatross Bryan Adams.
An octopus at the National Aquarium in New Zealand escaped from its tank, crawled across the floor, down a pipe and into the ocean and freedom. He’s headed to Zihuatanejo to sand a boat with Andy and Red.
