Billionaire hotel heir and Democratic candidate for governor J.B. Pritzker apologizes after another Chicago Tribune story about his 2008 phone conversations with then-Gov. Rod Blagojevich.
Meanwhile, Republican candidate for governor Jeanne Ives, a state representative from Wheaton, is not apologizing for an ad that's been condemned by people across the political spectrum.
In the call, captured in 2008 by an FBI wiretap and supposedly under court seal, Pritzker is heard discussing Blagojevich's power to fill the soon-to-be vacant U.S. Senate seat being vacated by President-elect Barack Obama. Pritzker calls former Illinois Senate President Emil Jones "crass," and then describes Secretary of State Jesse White as qualified, but also the "least offensive" African American the governor could appoint to the seat.
Ives' team says her ad satirizes issues relating to abortion, immigration, and transgender rights. But it's exaggerated portrayals are being criticized as anti-immigrant and transphobic. Some supporters are calling for her to take it down.
We'll also have a brief update on the state budget in advance of next week's budget address by Gov. Bruce Rauner. And we'll remember former NPR Illinois (née WSSR) Statehouse Bureau Chief Mary Frances Fagan, who died Sunday at the age of 63.
Sean Crawford hosts with regular panelists Charlie Wheeler and Brian Mackey, and guest Amanda Vinicky of Chicago Tonight, which airs on PBS station WTTW.
