It's the start of Illinois' new legislative session, and Governor Pat Quinn laid out, yesterday, what he wants lawmakers to accomplish.
In his fifth state of the state address since becoming governor, Quinn laid out a wide-ranging agenda which includes letting same-sex couples get married, raising the minimum wage, and prohibiting the sale of assault weapons.
Host Don Marsh talked with Illinois Public Radio/WUIS statehouse bureau chief Amanda Vinicky about the speech and politics in Illinois.
Quinn said, "We all weep over the senseless violence in our communities. But as elected officials we're in a position to do something about it. We have lifesaving work to do. We cannot wait for another tragedy to happen before we take action."
While the governor touched on Illinois' pension debt, which is approaching $100 billion, he mostly repeated previous and so far unsuccessful calls for action.
Pension took up only two-and-a-half minutes of his nearly 40-minute speech.
Many lawmakers said for all the ideas he threw out, Quinn's speech lacked substance and a plan for getting them done.
Illinois Public Radio/WUIS Statehouse Bureau Chief Amanda Vinicky contributed to this report.
