The Illinois General Assembly adjourned its spring session Sunday and delivered first-term Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s “think big” agenda as the Senate voted to raise motorists’ taxes and fees and embark upon a massive statewide gambling expansion that included a Chicago casino and legalized sports betting to pay for new roads, bridges and public buildings.

The new governor took to the floor of the Senate as the chamber concluded its work, with Democratic Senate President John Cullerton saying that lawmakers and the public would have “all summer to thank and pay tribute to him” as he signs into law various portions of his agenda. That included legalizing recreational marijuana, endorsing a sweeping abortion-rights bill and lawmakers putting a measure on the 2020 ballot asking voters to amend the state constitution to allow for a graduated-rate income tax to replace the mandated flat-rate tax. Lawmakers also reached a bipartisan agreement on a $40 billion state spending plan that legislators in both parties said was balanced.

Despite being forced into overtime this weekend after failing to meet its scheduled May 31 adjournment date, the size and scope of Pritzker’s achievements less than six months into office — often with Republican support — represented the release of a pent-up desire among lawmakers to show accomplishments after four years of governmental dysfunction and gridlock due to the ideological battles between former one-term GOP Gov. Bruce Rauner and the Democratic-controlled legislature.

Hundreds of residents, professionals, public officials and volunteers attended the annual Hero Helps Summit on Friday in Romeoville to hear about the progress being made to tackle the opioid epidemic in Will County and throughout the state. 

Kathleen Burke, director of substance-use initiatives in the Will County Executive’s Office, spoke about the local effort to ensure users seeking help can get what they need. The county has seen multiple police departments implement a safe-passage program, which allows users to seek treatment.

 Burke also lauded the efforts of the Will County Drug Court, a diversion program that allows those with opioid-related charges to get treatment, graduate and get their record expunged so they can go on to live a productive life. Burke emphasized that treating addictions like lifelong diseases is the key to helping users and their families.

Despite the lowest unemployment rates since the late 1960s, the American economy is failing its citizens. Some 90 percent have seen their incomes stagnate or decline in the past 30 years. 

This is not surprising, given that the United States has the highest level of inequality among the advanced countries and one of the lowest levels of opportunity — with the fortunes of young Americans more dependent on the income and education of their parents than elsewhere.

But things don’t have to be that way. There is an alternative: progressive capitalism. Progressive capitalism is not an oxymoron; we can indeed channel the power of the market to serve society.

In the 1980s, Ronald Reagan’s regulatory “reforms,” which reduced the ability of government to curb the excesses of the market, were sold as great energizers of the economy. But just the opposite happened: Growth slowed, and weirder still, this happened in the innovation capital of the world.