A Chicago Blog

From the Clout Street blog, Governor Blagojevich declares himself the first black Governor: “Emil and I are homeboys, man. There are times I consider myself the first African-American governor of Illinois so I don’t mind that at all.”
I’m speechless.

What do you know, I actually agree with Progress Illinois about something.

*”He apparently thinks he’s King, not Governor,” says Sen. Radogno about the Gov’s plans to rewrite an ethics bill using his amendatory veto authority.
*Blagojevich is also calling lawmakers back to Springfield for a special session … another one. Apparently, he’s rewritten the capital construction plan and wants a vote. Hmmm …. that constitutional convention is [...]

Here’s a telling quote from a guy who does business with the state. He is commenting on the value of a ban on political contributions from contractors doing business with the state:
“It will be good for me, for purely selfish reasons,” said Tony Karam, an executive vice president at Albert Benesch & Co., a national [...]

Chicagoist has an interesting enough interview with Judy Barr Topinka today. Interesting “enough” is the key … I’m not sure why we care what Judy has to say about Illinois politics anyway. One interesting tidbit, she mentions she is “hearing” Bill Daley’s name in discussions about who will be the next Governor. I am sure [...]

Yesterday the Chicago Tribune reported that thousands in state grants, funnelled through the Illinois State Board of Education, were going to questionable organizations.
In a church on Chicago’s West Side, two homeless children fiddled aimlessly on unplugged computers, awaiting their “tutor.”
Another church sat darkened and padlocked during after-school hours even though it was presented as a [...]

Real Clear Politics has very concise and informative round up of competitive Illinois house races: 6, 8, 10, 11, 14 and 16.
I’ve created a forum for each race in the new installed Forum. If you registered before, you might have to register again. I apologize for the lack of consistency but the new forum system [...]

Dennis Byrne’s column today goes after the Alliance to Protect the Illinois Constitution, a group established to defend the Illinois status quo against pesky reformers who’d like to see a constitutional convention held to return some of the power back to the people. The money quote:
[To the Alliance] Your cooperation with the rat pack has [...]

I know $1 million isn’t much for a statewide campaign. But by Illlinois GOP standards it’s a fortune. According to filings, Sauerberg only spent $1,500 over the last three months. So either he’s decided he can’t win and would rather hold on to his cash or he’s decided to leverage his money by spending it [...]

Here’s a good debate on the Con Con from NPR:
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