* ABC7…

Governor JB Pritzker is now the co-chair of a new non-partisan coalition of the nation’s governors.

Governors Safeguarding Democracy is said to be committed to protecting American democracy at the state level ahead of Donald Trump’s Presidency.

Pritzker will be joined as co-chair by Governor Jared Polis of Colorado.

The coalition will be supported by GovAct, an organization “championing fundamental freedoms,” according to a press release. […]

The group assured that coalition is not funded by Pritzker but paid for by other “philanthropic dollars.”

More…

The action items are vague. Pritzker described the goal as one to “leverage our collective strength, experience and institutional knowledge to drive policies that protect the rule of law” among the states.

“We’ll design and implement affirmative strategies to protect the rule of law and deliver for people in the states. We’ll work to reinforce key state institutions to protect executive agencies, elections, state courts and other democratic bodies. Then we’ll develop playbooks to enable governors and their teams to anticipate and swiftly respond to emerging threats,” he said.

When fully implemented, the initiative will be a “peer opportunity for governors to learn from one another on best practices and policies,” Polis said.

* House Speaker Chris Welch appeared on the 21st Show today…

Q: What are you and other Illinois Democratic leaders looking at in regard to what may be coming from President Elect Trump’s second term?

Welch: Well, I will tell you, one of the things I’m proud about is and proud to be an Illinoisan, is the work we’ve already done in this space. In 2019 we passed the Reproductive Health Act. In 2022 we put workers’ rights in our constitution. In 2023 we strengthened the Reproductive Health Act. So we’ve already done a lot of things that make Illinois a beacon, not just in the Midwest, but across the country. But, you know, we started having conversations before the November 5 election, because of the possibility of a Trump presidency, and certainly those conversations have intensified since his re election, and so those conversations are happening. But I want to underscore something. The work ahead of us is bigger than Donald Trump, and it’s not going to be done or resolved in a two-week veto session. The House that is returning for veto session, and the House that will take office in January, we’re committed to defending the rights of Illinoisans every time we show up, and we’re also committed to controlling costs for families every time we show up. We’re committed to rebuilding our fiscal house and ensuring everyone who wants to work hard has a chance to get ahead. And those are the things we’re going to focus on in the veto session in January and beyond that. That’s what the voters have sent us to do.

Q: I am wondering, though, because there could really be some federal/state friction coming up. Let’s say, for example, Trump federalizes the Illinois National Guard and orders them to begin rounding up migrants who do not have legal permission to be in America, undocumented people. How does Illinois respond to that? How should Illinois respond to that?

Welch: That’s a hypothetical that I certainly don’t know how to address, because I certainly hope that something like that doesn’t occur. You know, the only thing I can say is that we’re going to continue to have conversations with the governor, with the Senate President, with our respective caucuses. And under our leadership, we’ve already proven that Illinois is a place that believes in freedoms and protects people. And we’re going to continue to be a place that people can count on. We’re not just a beacon in the Midwest. We’re a beacon in the country. I can’t predict what Donald Trump will do. We know what he said. We know what he said he would do. We have to continue to have conversations with everyone and come to alignment on what we’re going to do to continue to the state. […]

Q: Last week, the Governor’s Office of Management and Budget put out its annual report on the state’s finances, and it predicted a budget shortfall of $3.2 billion, billion with a B, for the next fiscal year, which begins July 1. It’s a pretty drastic increase from the $900 million deficit state government had to deal with last year as the work to create a new budget begins for the General Assembly next year. What? What options are on the table for dealing with this potential shortfall?

Welch: Let me answer the question this way. You know, because I’ve been really proud of the work that we’ve done on the budget since I’ve been Speaker. We balanced the budget every year I’ve been speaker. In some of those years, we have had grim forecasts, just like we do now, and we’ve still managed to produce budgets with surpluses, additional payments to our pension obligations and credit rating upgrades. I think we’re at nine so far. So I fully expect the General Assembly that takes office in January, we’ll approach the next budget with the same responsible approach of going line by line, weighing priorities and making smart decisions for our future like we’ve done the last four years. And my calls with my caucus members the last couple of days, many, I’ve lost count, talked about the budget work ahead. There’s things that rolled up, they’re ready to get to work, they’re ready to do it in a responsible and compassionate way.

Q: Last thing I want to ask you about, we have talked on this program a number of times now about, I think it’s 25 counties. At this point, voters have approved some sort of referendum saying that Chicago Cook County, maybe the entire Chicago land area, I don’t remember the exact language should become a separate state and down state, Illinois would become the 51st state people, even people who support it. We talked to somebody from the Madison County Board who supports this, and said it’s more symbolic, because it feels like Democrats aren’t responsive to the concerns of their voters. How do you respond to this idea that Democrats have steamrolled and certainly we’ve seen the success of the map has has made it very difficult for Republicans to make inroads and represent their constituents in the way they would choose to.

Welch: Listen, Democrats represent folks all over the state. We have to listen to their concerns and try to address their concerns. We have to try to be unifiers and not dividers, and I’d love to continue to listen to those folks. Illinois is a great state to live, work and play. If there’s some things that we’re not doing that they think we should be doing, I’d love to hear from them. I’m Speaker of the House, I’m not Speaker of the Democrats. If there’s a concern they’d like to addressm call the Speaker’s office, come talk with me. We’re here to help the entire state, and the things that Democrats have done, especially since I’ve been Speaker the last four years, I’ve helped every single corner of this state. And if there’s more things we can do. I want to do that we’re playing an infinite game, and we want to make this state better. Each and every day we go to work. And so there’s some things, some ideas that people think we need to make them better? Love to hear from them.

Please pardon any transcription errors.