The Mincing Rascals are John Williams of WGN Radio, Eric Zorn, Publisher of The Picayune Sentinel, and Jon Hansen of WGN Radio, Block Club Chicago and WCIU. The Rascals discuss Brandon Johnson’s ‘stirring’ inauguration speech. What were the big takeaways from the speech? Crain’s had a report on some Johnson allies pushing a $12 billion financial package, including wealth and income taxes. Will this proposal fly? Scholaroo has identified the Happiest States in the US. Where does Illinois come in the rankings? The Rascals discuss the Illinois Supreme Court hearing arguments over Illinois’ gun ban and the U.S. Supreme Court denying a request to block Illinois and Naperville gun bans. Also, Elon Musk did a wide-ranging interview with CNBC. Did anything new come out of what Musk said? And finally, the gang rank the best months from best to worst. September has got to be tops, right? We’ll save the ‘Succession’ discussion for another episode.