The beginning of the Illinois spring legislative session kicks off Tuesday. This is an election year so it remains to be seen how far out on a limb lawmakers are willing to go to get the state’s fiscal house in order.

Eight Forty-Eight was given a preview from WBEZ’s state house reporter Kristen McQueary. But first, the show took a look at the state of the state: Monday there was a report showing that Illinois was in worse shape that previously thought. Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn will deliver his State of the State address Wednesday.

Eight Forty Eight spoke with Todd Haggerty, policy analyst with the National Council on State Legislatures, and Ben Adler, state government reporter for Capital Public Radio in Sacramento, to get a sense of how Illinois stacked up against other states.