Illinois lawmakers have two weeks to get together a spending plan. Officials from cities across the state are going on the offensive to keep lawmakers from balancing the budget by raiding their pockets.

The Civic Federation, a Chicago-based fiscal watchdog group Wednesday said Governor Bruce Rauner’s budget proposal is unrealistic and relies on money that may never come through. The group’s report calls it “precariously balanced”.

On The 21st: We talk to Microsoft director Eric Horvitz about the future of artificial intelligence. Also, we heard from Laurence Msall of the Civic Federations for his inputs on what Illinois can do to solve the budget crisis. Also, the race for governor is shaping up to be the most expensive in history- ProPublica Illinois is helping you keep track of how much each candidate is spending. And, we continue our series of candidate interviews, today with Sen. Daniel Biss. 

On the 21st: Today is the last scheduled day for state lawmakers and the 700th day without a state budget. We spoke with Civic Federation President Laurence Msall on what an ideal state budget proposal would look like. We also spoke with faculty and a student from Northeastern Illinois University about 180 layoffs that will begin this summer. 

A nonpartisan research group says Illinois’ desperate financial condition is getting even worse. The Civic Federation of Chicago says unless something is done soon, by next year the state’s pile of unpaid bills could consume half of all new tax revenue.