* As I told you yesterday, Paul Vallas won’t run for governor, or, apparently, anything else in 2010…

Saying he still has work to do to improve New Orleans schools, Paul Vallas said Sunday he won’t run for governor of Illinois in 2010.

Vallas, who was the first Chicago Public Schools CEO, is a major player in education. He heads the New Orleans school system and used to run Philadelphia schools.

* Vallas held the Sunday press conference to announce his support for the constitutional convention ballot question. The suburban and downstate pollling I’ve seen lately is all bad for the “Yes” folks, so it probably didn’t do much good.

* The numbers I’ve seen are also very bad in the Peoria area, but the Peoria Journal Star has now editorialized in favor of a “Yes” vote…

When a politician can singlehandedly stop school funding reform in Illinois, or ethics reform, then there is something fundamentally broken about the governing charter that does nothing to intervene in that insult to democracy.

When a governor can use his amendatory veto power to add to, not just subtract from, a piece of legislation, effectively acting as a program-creating, revenue-allocating Legislature unto himself, then there is something grievously wrong with the all-too-ambiguous Constitution that allows that to happen. When just three people can essentially craft and agree on a budget that is then passed overwhelmingly by 175 largely clueless others who serve as mere props to the main play, then you don’t have representative democracy.

For those reasons - all real indiscretions committed by representatives of both major parties - Illinoisans should vote “yes” to a ballot measure that calls for a constitutional convention to address that which ails the document passed to much acclaim in 1970. Given the most dysfunctional, incompetent and arguably corrupt state government in memory, that Constitution desperately needs some tweaking.

Yep.

* The Tribune takes another crack at the issue today…

Insult and indignity are complete: Rod Blagojevich, governor of Illinois, wants you to vote against calling a constitutional convention. He frets that delegates might propose limiting the executive powers—real or goofily imagined—by which he pays for his obsessions at the expense of taxpayers. Without legislative approval. Without our approval.

He might have added: Delegates also could propose letting voters recall pols who accept fat salaries but won’t do their jobs honorably. Inept governors included.

So this settles it: Virtually all of the insiders with claims on power and money in this state fear losing clout. That is, for once the insiders are worried about you.Some opponents of a con-con sincerely believe that today’s citizenry isn’t as astute as, well, the citizenry that approved our current constitution. Other opponents sincerely believe only in their own entitlement.

* But this is a big reason why the numbers are breaking heavily against the con-con…

The opposing sides in the debate over whether Illinois voters should call a new constitutional convention are waging a lopsided battle when it comes to raising money to promote their messages.

About $1.7 million has been contributed so far to political funds affiliated with the referendum question that will appear on ballots Tuesday. Of that amount, almost all of it — more than $1.5 million — has been directed to a group that wants Illinoisans to vote “no” when they’re asked if they favor a constitutional convention.

It’s just no contest.

* Related…

* Con-Con Makes for Strange Bedfellows

* Con-Con Ballot Question Could Change Illinois

* Con-con career starts: The last time Illinois voters decided to rewrite the constitution, way back in 1969, the state ended up with a bumper crop of new political leaders. Here are a dozen people whose political careers began at the 1969 convention, when they were among the 116 delegates.

* Con-Con radio debate

* A Necessary Inconvenience - A Call for A Constitutional Convention