*Riding the radio waves: Days before he's scheduled to present a budget plan to lawmakers, Gov. Rauner will take questions from public radio listeners Friday morning.

Rauner is scheduled to appear on WBEZ-FM 91.5's "The Morning Shift" at 9 a.m. for an Ask the Governor segment the station bills as "monthly" and a "rare opportunity" to question the governor. In a news release, the station said listeners could call its studio line at (312) 923-9239 or post questions on its Facebook page.

Rauner has taken questions from Facebook users before, the queries filtered by his staff in those cases. Last month, the Republican governor took to Facebook Live to say that two years into his term "I will never give up" in his nearly two-year budget battle with Democratic lawmakers.

During another Facebook appearance, Rauner faced criticism from women's health advocates after he solicited questions via a photo of his dog wearing a pink ribbon with the caption: "Stella is doing her part to raise awareness and we are, too." Millions of dollars in state money that typically for breast cancer screenings for low-income women were lost during the budget battle.

The governor is scheduled to deliver his budget proposal to state lawmakers Wednesday, the third such speech of his first term. The state has been without a full spending plan since July 2015, though, as Rauner and Democratic House Speaker Michael Madigan have been unable to find much common ground.

Rauner recently suggested to the Chicago Tribune Editorial Board his plan would resemble what he presented last year, asking lawmakers for more authority to make cuts or pushing forward with more negotiations.

The radio appearance also comes as Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan's bid to stop state payroll without a budget faces a court date next week.

*Public funding for Illinois campaigns? Even as Illinois can’t pay its bills, a potential Democratic candidate for governor suggested Thursday that the state should spend $25 million a year to pay for campaigns.

The suggestion from Sen. Daniel Biss, D-Evanston, comes amid renewed attention on the influence of money in politics after Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner recently poured $50 million into his campaign fund to finance a re-election bid and Democrats court wealthy challengers who could match his election investment.

Under the proposal, candidates could choose to raise money on their own or participate in a public matching program. Relatively small contributions between $25 and $150 would be matched by six times, up to a certain amount. The match would be capped at $50 million statewide every two-year election cycle, and lawmakers would have to approve funding for the program.

“Our political system is one where power is concentrated in the hands of a very small number of people … because of the way we pay for our political campaigns,” Biss said.

The proposal has not yet been debated. Biss said his proposal would not impact the 2018 governor’s race, which is he considering whether to enter.

“This is not about the 2018 election, this is about the future of Illinois’ democracy,” Biss said. (Monique Garcia)

*On the Sunday Spin: On this week's show, Chicago Tribune political reporter Rick Pearson’s guests are Elliot Richardson, founder and CEO of the Small Business Advocacy Council; Wheaton Republican U.S. Rep. Peter Roskam; and Michael Golden, author of “Unlock Congress.” The "Sunday Spin" airs from 7 to 9 a.m. on WGN 720-AM.

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