Public officials can consider many topics important, but they’re only allowed one top priority.

Consider it pedantry, but that’s how priorities work: only one item heads the list. This reality often hits hard when a candidate wins an election, or when politicians who are supposed to collaborate can’t reconcile competing concerns.

It might then be considered refreshing to hear both the governor and a powerful lawmaker espouse the same top priority in remarks leading into today’s opening of the legislative session.

“I have one priority every session that is the No. 1 priority,” Gov. JB Pritzker said at a recent news conference, “and that’s balancing our budget, making sure that we’re doing the right thing to put our state on firm fiscal footing, to continue to get credit upgrades as we have, and to make sure that we’re providing the services that people need.”

House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch shared similar sentiments with the Chicago Tribune, saying, “We want to continue down that path of financial stability, and so the budget is going to be a real top priority for us as we head back.”

It’s likely Republicans aren’t ever comforted when leading Democrats find common ground, but setting aside partisanship it’s important for all voters to take note when such markers are laid, especially this early in the process.

When he was vice president, Joe Biden liked to share a message he said he got from his father: “Don’t tell me what you value. Show me your budget, and I’ll tell you what you value.” If we’re to believe Pritzker and Welch, then simply adopting a budget won’t be good enough – although Illinois has in the past failed to get even that far – but fiscal prudence itself will be the priority.

The General Assembly is rapidly reconfiguring an already condensed schedule under color of coronavirus mitigation, Pritzker’s budget address is still several weeks off. I’m not especially interested in hearing proposals from either Pritzker or Democratic lawmakers until then unless they speak specifically to long-term finances.

That includes how to allocate $3.6 billion in federal coronavirus relief funds, mounting unemployment insurance debt and the always delightful topic of public pensions. Obviously other issues will surface, but if talk of Illinois’ fiscal climate improving is even remotely true, then now is the time to make sure every proposal includes legitimate discussion about funding.

Shrewd Republicans will take advantage of any opportunity to force Democrats facing an election in November to engage on the issues they’re forcing to the center of campaigns. Democrats control the Legislature and the spending, so verbal rhetoric will take a backseat to actual votes.

In time, true priorities will be revealed.

Voters must pay close attention.

• Scott T. Holland writes about state government issues for Shaw Media. Follow him on Twitter @sth749. He can be reached at sholland@shawmedia.com.