Governor J.B. Pritzker is expected to address what analysts think may be a tight fiscal year in his State of the State speech tonight. Forecasters have predicted the state is on course for a 900-million dollar deficit unless some corrective action is taken. But analysts have also predicted the state will wind up with a surplus of one-point-four billion dollars. They say the deficit could result from some challenges the state is facing, including the added burden of newly arrived migrants in Chicago and increased costs in group insurance programs. Pritzker is also expected to ask for 75-million dollars for the Early Childhood Block Grant to enable another five-thousand children to attend preschool.
