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On the latest episode of Politically Speaking, Sen. Lauren Arthur talks about the just-completed budget and unfinished business as the 2023 session starts its last week.

Arthur represents the 17th District, which takes in a portion of Clay County. She was first elected to her post in a 2018 special election and reelected to a full term in 2020. Because of term limits, she will not be eligible to run again for the Senate in 2024.

Here’s what Arthur talked about on the program:

• A member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, she discussed how Senate Republicans teamed up with House and Senate Democrats to prevail on most of the contentious issues around the state budget.
• The impact of a proposal adding another lane in each direction to Interstate 70. The project, which is expected to cost around $2.8 billion, is one of the biggest transportation-related moves made by the legislature in decades.
• Arthur is the handler of a tax credits bill aimed at shoring up the state’s day care centers. She said that she’s been frustrated by Republican opposition to these ideas, especially since child care can often be critical for working parents.
• The status of a bill creating an open enrollment program for public schools and another banning gender-affirming care for minors. 

Arthur is a native of the so-called Northland, the part of Kansas City that’s north of downtown. She graduated from Smith College with a degree in history and worked as a teacher and in the advertising industry.

Many see Arthur as a potential candidate for statewide office once she leaves the Senate after 2024, though she has made no announcement about her future.

U.S. Rep. Mike Bost, R-Murphysboro, of Illinois’ 12th District, recently returned to Washington, D.C., after a trip to the U.S.-Mexico border, where the Border Patrol is struggling with an uptick in agent suicide, he said.

Many of those agents are veterans. As chairman of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, Bost said that’s concerning.

More broadly, figuring out how to make the system at the border better is a tough subject, Bost said.

“There’s sensible things we can do — but the politics of it has got so bad that you can’t get anybody to sit down and agree on anything with that,” he said.

The five-term congressman, whose expansive district includes part of the Metro East, talked about the border and a variety of other key issues on the latest episode of the Politically Speaking podcast, including:

• What role migrant farm labor should play in immigration reform.
• The ongoing debate surrounding the country’s debt ceiling and how Republicans want to negotiate with President Joe Biden and Democrats.
• If a primary challenge by Darren Bailey, the former GOP nominee for governor, would concern Bost.

Bost was first elected to the U.S. House in 2014 — flipping a longtime Democratic stronghold. Previously, he served 20 years in the Illinois statehouse. After Democrats redrew Illinois’ districts in 2021, Bost’s 12th district became an apparent lock for Republicans.

Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft joined the latest episode of Politically Speaking to talk about a host of issues, including Attorney General Andrew Bailey’s rules restricting gender-affirming care.

While much of the discussion in the Missouri General Assembly has revolved around banning care including puberty blockers, hormonal therapy and gender reassignment surgeries for minors, Bailey’s rules may affect Missourians who are over 18.

Bailey has said the regulations are aimed at protecting minors from receiving procedures too quickly. However, the regulations do not mention only applying to those under 18. And some groups that advocate for the LGBTQ community contend some of the regulations are so onerous that they amount to a de facto ban.

Ashcroft’s office is responsible for printing rules such as the ones Bailey put forward and must sign off on those classified as an emergency. He said he expects the rules to be fought in court. He supports the restrictions for minors but is opposed to prohibiting such care as hormonal therapies and gender reassignment surgeries for adults.

“I disagree with it. I don’t think people should do it. But there’s a difference between what I think and where I think the government should be involved,” Ashcroft said. “If you’re an adult and you want to spend your own money, I disagree with you. But it’s not my place to tell you that you can’t.”

Here’s what else Ashcroft talked about on the show:

• He is not a fan of the Senate’s version of the gender-affirming care ban. He doesn’t think the measure should expire after four years or exempt minors who are currently receiving certain medical treatments.
• He is opposed to adding sexual orientation and gender identity to the state’s anti-discrimination laws. That proposal, known as the Missouri Nondiscrimination Act, was discussed in a committee hearing earlier this year.
• He panned legislation creating an open enrollment process for schoolchildren, saying it doesn’t go far enough. 

Ashcroft is an attorney and engineer who was first elected secretary of state in 2016. He was reelected in 2020 by a wide margin.

He officially jumped into the 2024 gubernatorial race earlier this month. That puts him on a collision course with Lt. Gov. Mike Kehoe and possibly state Sen. Bill Eigel, R-St. Charles County. On the Democratic side, House Minority Leader Crystal Quade is considering a run to succeed Gov. Mike Parson — who cannot seek election again due to term limits.

U.S. Rep. Nikki Budzinski, D-Springfield, of Illinois’ 13th District, was well aware of the lack of civility shown to politicians and others of all beliefs when she was elected in November.

“Of course, there is some of that,” she said on the latest edition of the “Politically Speaking” podcast. “But I made it a mission of mine in the first 100 days to really reach across the party aisle and work on the issues where I feel like we can still find common ground.”

The amount of bipartisan work that she’s seen and been a part of is maybe the most surprising part of her first days in office, she said.

Before she was elected, Budzinski served as the chief of staff for President Joe Biden’s Office of Management and Budget. The Peoria native worked on Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s election campaign in 2018 and later his administration.

She also worked for the United Food and Commercial Workers union in Washington, D.C. She now lives in Springfield.

Here are some of the other topics she discussed on the podcast:

• Her wide-ranging district, which stretches from Cahokia Heights and Alton to Springfield and Champaign on the east side of the state.
• The potential sale of Granite City’s steel plant and what that means for the community. 
• Her work on the House Committee on Agriculture, where she is joined by five members of Illinois’ congressional delegation. The roles low-income food benefits and biofuels play in the Farm Bill are among the most important topics being discussed on the committee, Budzinski said.
• The impending debate surrounding the country’s debt limit and how federal lawmakers plan to solve the problem.

On the latest episode of Politically Speaking, state Rep. Maggie Nurrenbern talks about the state budget and how Missouri lawmakers should approach education policy.

The Democrat represents Missouri’s 15th District, which takes in a portion of Clay County. She was first elected in 2020 and then reelected last year. The former teacher serves on the House Budget Committee and the House Elementary and Secondary Education Committee.

Here’s what Nurrenbern discussed on the program:

• Budgetary amendments in the House that would bar any state funding from going toward “staffing, vendors, consultants, or programs associated with diversity, equity and inclusion.” Nurrenbern said the proposal amounts to political posturing and added that state DEI work is vitally important for improving Missouri’s workforce.
• Her take on open enrollment legislation, which would allow some families to send their children to the school of their choice. She said the proposal would end up hurting schools that are struggling, since they would ultimately get less money from the state.
• The looming debate in the House over bills that would restrict transgender health care and bar student athletes from playing on teams that align with their gender identity. Republicans have made those bills major priorities in the 2023 session.

Nurrenbern is a lifelong resident of Clay County, having graduated from Smithville High School in 2002. After graduating from Truman State University and the University of Missouri-Kansas City, Nurrenbern worked as a teacher for over a decade.

After Rep. Jon Carpenter, D-Clay County, left the House because of term limits, Nurrenbern won the race to replace him. She also prevailed in her reelection campaign by 11 percentage points. Clay County has become more Democratic in recent years, often supporting the party’s statewide candidates.

Nurrenbern is running to succeed Sen. Lauren Arthur in the 17th District. Both Arthur and Carpenter endorsed Nurrenbern.