For Immediate Release
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
Contact: Jak Tichenor, Senior Producer, WSIU Public Television, (618) 453-6187, jak.tichenor@wsiu.org
WSIU to Air Live Coverage of Governor Quinn's Budget Message
Carbondale, Ill. -- WSIU Public Broadcasting, the public media arm of Southern Illinois University, will broadcast live coverage of Illinois Governor Pat Quinn's Budget Message to the Illinois General Assembly as part of the statewide public media series Illinois Lawmakers next Wednesday, March 6 from Noon-1pm on WSIU's primary channels, WSIU-TV 8.1 and WUSI-TV 16.1.
WSIU Public Radio also will air the speech live on Wednesday, March 6 at noon on WSIU 91.9 FM, WUSI 90.3 FM, and WVSI 88.9 FM, with additional coverage provided that same day by the WSIU Radio news team during local breaks on All Things Considered, which airs from 3-6:30pm.
WSIU-TV will air a repeat broadcast of the speech on Wednesday, March 6 at 10:30pm on its primary channels. The speech also will air on WSIU WORLD – WSIU-TV 8.2 and WUSI-TV 16.2 – on March 6 at 8pm and again on Saturday, March 9 at 8pm, Sunday, March 10 at 10am, and Monday, March 11 at 5pm.
“The Governor has no choice but to paint the starkest picture possible for members of the General Assembly of what next fiscal year's budget will look like unless they act quickly to fix the worst funded public employee pension system in the country,” said Illinois Lawmakers host and Statehouse correspondent Jak Tichenor.
The Governor's own Office of Management and Budget estimates that state revenues for fiscal year 2014 will grow by approximately $600-million, but that growth will be quickly offset by increased pension costs of $945-million. The state's unfunded pension liability now totals over $100-billion, and grows another $17-million a day, meaning less money for schools and any other kind of state services.
“It's an incredibly tough situation,” Tichenor said. “Everyone knows they've got to do something, but every solution that's been put on the table so far faces almost certain legal challenges and voter backlash from affected groups like retired teachers and union workers."
Illinois Lawmakers' coverage of the Governor's budget message will feature analysis from veteran Statehouse reporters Rich Miller of Capitolfax.com and Amanda Vinicky of Illinois Public Radio, as well as in-depth reaction from legislative leaders from both parties in the Illinois House and Senate.
Since 1985, Illinois Lawmakers has provided in-depth coverage of the Illinois General Assembly for a statewide public television audience, making it the longest-running television series of its kind in the state. Illinois Lawmakers is a joint production of WSIU-TV Carbondale, WTVP-TV Peoria, and Illinois Public Media (WILL) Urbana-Champaign. Learn more online at illinoislawmakers.org.
About WSIU
WSIU Public Broadcasting is licensed to the Board of Trustees of Southern Illinois University and is an integral part of the College of Mass Communication & Media Arts on the Carbondale campus. The WSIU stations reach more than three million people across five states and beyond through three digital public television channels, three public radio stations, a radio information service, a website, and an education and community outreach department.
WSIU's mission is to improve the quality of life of the people they serve. The WSIU stations partner with other community organizations to promote positive change and to support the academic and public service missions of Southern Illinois University Carbondale. Learn more and get the latest station news online at wsiu.org and on WSIU's Facebook and Twitter pages.
WSIU's programs and services are partially funded by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency.
# # #
