Illinois’ Budget Problems Get the Daily Show Treatment

It's been bad enough having a front-row seat for Illinois' budget standoff and the many problems that having no budget agreement has caused. Having the Daily Show's correspondent Jordan Klepper arrive with a camera crew to weigh in on the issue is helping to make us a national punchline.

With lawmakers in Springfield attempting to come to some sort of an accord even as we speak, the drumbeat from taxpayers and the media to fix this problem is getting louder and louder.

There's been no shortage of finger-pointing as we try to assign blame for this mess. Most Illinoisans place responsibility in the lap of House Speaker Michael Madigan, but, if you look at polling inside the city of Chicago, you'll find they think it's Governor Bruce Rauner's fault.

In October of last year, one of the Daily Show's correspondents, Jordan Klepper, made the trip to Oglesby, Illinois, to report on a couple that had won the lottery. They won $250,000, but the state wouldn't pay out the money due to the budget impasse. They did eventually get their money, but told Jordan (on a follow-up visit) about how our state's budget standoff is affecting their family and jobs.

So, Jordan took the cameras to the Statehouse, where he spent some time with two Illinois lawmakers, Rep. Ron Sandack (R-Downers Grove), and State Senator Daniel Bliss (D-Evanston).

Despite their obvious political differences, these two guys do have some comic chemistry:

((Warning: Some language is definitely NOT SAFE FOR WORK, or the easily offended))