* What’s next, the Girl Scouts? From a press release…

Governor Quinn Talks Pension and Medicaid Reform with Students

Hosts Town Hall About Illinois’ Future at Julian Middle School

OAK PARK – May 22, 2012. Governor Pat Quinn today hosted a town hall meeting with students at Julian Middle School about the urgent need for pension and Medicaid reform. With just 9 days left before the end of spring legislative session, the governor continued his push to stabilize Illinois’ Medicaid and pension systems and educate the public about our fiscal challenges. During the visit, Governor Quinn took questions from 8th graders about their stake in what happens in Springfield this session and the impact that these two issues have on the future of Illinois.

“At its core, this battle to resolve our fiscal challenges is about the future of our children,” Governor Quinn said. “If we want to educate our kids and ensure they are ready for the workforce, our moment is now. We must assume responsibility to build a better future for our children. We must work together to get these vital reforms done.”

For crying out loud, governor, get back to Springfield and stop doing silly press pops near your house. You told reporters yesterday that you wanted to see “an epic 10 days” at the Capitol and wanted legislators to avoid all distractions, and now you’re spending time taking questions from 8th Graders?

Then again, some might say that Quinn is doing more good by getting outta town so he can’t screw things up.

But, still. Really?

*** UPDATE *** A photo from today’s event…

Caption?

       

100 Comments - Oswego Willy - Tuesday, May 22, 12 @ 11:05 am: (wheels turning on possiblities….) - CircularFiringSquad - Tuesday, May 22, 12 @ 11:06 am: Come on Capt Fax give PQ a break. He already did the victory lap presser in SPI so now he needs to get Chi TV time and meet with the King of Siam to talk trade and then return to his hypnotist for more anti-distraction therapy - Dan Shields, Springfield, IL - Tuesday, May 22, 12 @ 11:06 am: Note to PQ, the legislature is in session in Springfield. You the city that is the State Capitol of Illinois - Jake From Elwood - Tuesday, May 22, 12 @ 11:10 am: Next up: Sunday afternoon presser at the Melrose Park Chuck E. Cheese. - Oswego Willy - Tuesday, May 22, 12 @ 11:14 am: QUINN TO SPEAK TO DOGS & CATS ON SOCIAL CO-EXISTENCE GUV HOLD Q & A AT S & P PDQ! QUINN MEETS WITH FANTASY BASEBALL LEAGUE ON BUDGETS, ROSTERS, & SALARY CAPS QUINN FLY-AROUND MAKES RUTHERFORD JEALOUS QUINN SPEAKS AT COMMENCEMENT FOR SCHOOL OF FISH QUINN’S KINDERGARDEN SPEECH COVERS THE “ABC’S” CAPITOL NEEDS LEADERSHIP - SENDS QUINN TO CHICAGO - Curious - Tuesday, May 22, 12 @ 11:18 am: Fenwick high school is a few blocks down the street. Just sayin… - jake - Tuesday, May 22, 12 @ 11:18 am: They say there are two kinds of politicians: work horses and show horses. Obvious that PQ is pure show horse. But worse than that, he is an impediment to getting things done when he does get involved. He should be in Springfield, but given the way he does things, it is best he stays in Chicago. - Oswego Willy - Tuesday, May 22, 12 @ 11:22 am: QUINN RIDES METRA, HOLDS TRANSPORTATION FORUM QUINN TALKS FOOD DURING HS HOME EC CLASS GUV TALKS FUEL TAX DURING 8TH GRADE BIKE RALLY AFTER 2 DAYS, CAPITOL FINALLY MISSES QUINN LATEST QUINN TOUR FOLLOWING THE “PRESS RELEASE” TRAIL MAN OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD, GUV STAYS LOCAL - Yossarian Lives - Tuesday, May 22, 12 @ 11:23 am: Sure, the Gov should be in Springfield. But there’s no need to insult eighth-graders. I think Gov. Quinn has a point that they need to understand the important issues of the day. Kudos to him for giving middle-schoolers credit for being capable of understanding pensions and Medicaid. Comparing children to animals and hypno-therapy isn’t called for. - Wensicia - Tuesday, May 22, 12 @ 11:25 am: “Governor Quinn Talks Pension and Medicaid Reform with Students” So, it’s important to push a political agenda to a bunch of eighth graders? - Responsa - Tuesday, May 22, 12 @ 11:26 am: Jake–I must question your analogy. Show horses normally excite rather than put you to sleep when you are in their presence. - Dirty Red - Tuesday, May 22, 12 @ 11:27 am: What’s the problem? Quinn read CapFax yesterday and saw Illinois’ delegation talks like middle schoolers. He’s just learning the language. - Fed up - Tuesday, May 22, 12 @ 11:27 am: Maybe he could talk to the kids about lying. Ex I will veto any tax hike above 4%, I support the death penalty, I will live in Springfield. Remember 8th graders doing what you say is for losers. - Esquire - Tuesday, May 22, 12 @ 11:33 am: @Rich Miller: You read my mind! As soon as I began to read this post, I thought to myself, “A lazy day for Governor Quinn since he is visiting a public school minutes from his house.” The children may have liked this, but it accomplished nothing. - Oswego Willy - Tuesday, May 22, 12 @ 11:36 am: Rich, you may want a new post for that Caption … just a suggestion - Mouthy - Tuesday, May 22, 12 @ 11:38 am: Where’s the big book with all those pictures of happy and jolly teachers and retirees? - OneMan - Tuesday, May 22, 12 @ 11:40 am: Several 8th graders realize at once that perhaps it would have been better to take that English exam after all… A student then rose and said, “If I wanted a guy in a suit to tell me about problems I would watch Dr. Phil” Governor Quinn gives a surprising long answer to a student’s question of “A dork says what?” - Oswego Willy - Tuesday, May 22, 12 @ 11:41 am: “I am the governor …yes. Yes, the governor of Illinois… Yes, the legislature is in Springfield today … Why am I here? … good question …” - OneMan - Tuesday, May 22, 12 @ 11:41 am: There are many upsides to living near Governor Quinn like V-8 on Halloween but it does require everyone eventually to pay a price… - OneMan - Tuesday, May 22, 12 @ 11:43 am: Ironically, my daughter and a host of 8th graders from her middle school were in Springfield… He could have bored them to tears down there before they headed to Golden Corral… Then again the last governor she had her picture taken went now lives in Colorado. - Oswego Willy - Tuesday, May 22, 12 @ 11:44 am: “No, I am sorry, the Legislative Scholarship program is going to end this July.” - OneMan - Tuesday, May 22, 12 @ 11:46 am: Governor Quinn wraps up his comments before heading over to Mrs. Wigglies day care to discus his role in starting the Citizens Utility Board as well as the actuarial implications of pension reform with toddlers… There was general agreement he was the worst Social Studies sub they had all year…. - Oswego Willy - Tuesday, May 22, 12 @ 11:46 am: OneMan … I had a child on that trip yesterday as well. My child told me that “there was a lot of talk, but there seemed to be very little getting done at that moment” I said, “Yep, you were in Springfield.” - Spliff - Tuesday, May 22, 12 @ 11:48 am: PQ “I don’t know if you heard but I won with a mandate of the people!” - PublicServant - Tuesday, May 22, 12 @ 11:48 am: “So I’m here today to take your questions, and I’m glad to be here. Your questions are enjoyable, while those from reporters hurt my ears”. - Plutocrat03 - Tuesday, May 22, 12 @ 11:49 am: Could this be the last audience who will at least stifle a giggle when he speaks? Then on to the preschoolers….. - wordslinger - Tuesday, May 22, 12 @ 11:49 am: –Next up: Sunday afternoon presser at the Melrose Park Chuck E. Cheese.– That’s one of the North Avenue businesses that former MP Police Chief Vito Scavo shook down for protection money. “I’m just saying, Chuck E., it would be a shame if, God forbid, you would get hit in the head with a skee-ball…” - OneMan - Tuesday, May 22, 12 @ 11:50 am: Yossarian Lives as the father of a smart 8th grader I would have to say trying to get those kids to pay attention 9 days before graduation to medicaid reform is something to be brutally frank, Pat Quinn is not up to… - Oswego Willy - Tuesday, May 22, 12 @ 11:50 am: “Gee Tommy, that made me “l” “o” “l” … to answer that, “i” “d” “k” … but check my Facebook status later.” - Cheryl44 - Tuesday, May 22, 12 @ 11:50 am: Won’t someone think of the children? - OneMan - Tuesday, May 22, 12 @ 11:51 am: Thanks wordslinger have to explain to co-workers what is so funny… - wordslinger - Tuesday, May 22, 12 @ 11:53 am: Fenwick is just down the street. He’s an alum. Why torture the Julian kids? Maybe he wanted to see where all those good Oak Park basketball players come from. You know, the ones who don’t go to Fenwick. - Oswego Willy - Tuesday, May 22, 12 @ 11:53 am: “I understand that you are here for detention, and that for every 6 minutes you listen to me, you get 60 minutes of detention time credit….” - OneMan - Tuesday, May 22, 12 @ 11:54 am: Oswego Willy — we have family down there so she has been down there quite a bit and we have been down to the capitol during session for gifted day a few times. She got to meet some folks (Thanks again John Fritchey) as well as some Republicans I know over the years. Suffice to say she was still talking about the band trip they took to St. Louis this weekend instead. - Irish - Tuesday, May 22, 12 @ 11:56 am: Fozzie visits the fourth grade. - OneMan - Tuesday, May 22, 12 @ 11:57 am: Things got awkward a few minutes into Quinn’s remarks when a teacher said “You know Dan Rutherford is fixing our toilets right now, can you spend some time cleaning some whiteboards instead of droning on and on?” - Oswego Willy - Tuesday, May 22, 12 @ 12:00 pm: Sounds like you have the place “wired” OneMan … “I am a “Democrat”, but some consider me a “Populist”, by which some call me a “Gadfly”, but I would never call myself a “socialists”, but …do not call me a “conservative”, but … calling me a “liberal” would be a bit to the right of where I see myself on the political prism. So to answer the question … what did you ask again….” - Responsa - Tuesday, May 22, 12 @ 12:02 pm: Say–have any of you kids ever been down to the state fair in Springfield? They have tractor demonstrations and corn and pigs there. And sometimes I give a speech and maybe the surviving members of a legacy band from the 70’s appears too. You’d love it! Really!! - Quoteproquo - Tuesday, May 22, 12 @ 12:02 pm: Pat Quinn, in an effort to get the young, ever influential non-voting bloc on his side, explains that his reforms are “epic” and anyone who doesn’t go along with them are “totally buzzkills” - wordslinger - Tuesday, May 22, 12 @ 12:03 pm: I’m betting that PQ walks out of Julian strolls to Madison and Ridgeland and gets a Meat-Lovers slice at Nick’s. You get a free pop, so it’ very frugal. - transplant - Tuesday, May 22, 12 @ 12:03 pm: I wonder if Quinn realizes that to those 8th graders, he sounded remarkably like Charlie Brown’s teacher … - OneMan - Tuesday, May 22, 12 @ 12:04 pm: OW — there is a chance our kids even go to the same middle school that is how wired I am. You hand out enough crap for candidates at parades over the years you feel your kids should see these guys doing something besides campaigning… - Oswego Willy - Tuesday, May 22, 12 @ 12:06 pm: “No, I do not have a car named ‘Pongee’ …” “You may have seen me in the neighborhood, but let’s be quite clear, As Governor, I …LIVE … in the Governor’s Mansion.” “Okay, I am told we have 30 minutes left, so time for one question …” “You are right, Lt. Governor Simon usually ‘opens’ for me, but she is busy in Springfiled doing the People’s work, and I am here with you.” - Ca - Tuesday, May 22, 12 @ 12:08 pm: The Governor not being distracted by a roomful of shiny objects. - OneMan - Tuesday, May 22, 12 @ 12:09 pm: Pat then gave them a geography lesson http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LzcOYhyjawY&list=UUm_x1-70PWO0Np7XzPXHaew&index=4&feature=plcp - Inactive - Tuesday, May 22, 12 @ 12:09 pm: I guess if PQ can push a political agenda on schoolchildren, he’s opened up the door for teachers to do the same in their classrooms, don’t ya think? - Oswego Willy - Tuesday, May 22, 12 @ 12:10 pm: OneMan, 308 is a small district. “That is a very detailed question, thoughtful, and not open-ended… you say your name is Tommy … Tommy what … Tommy Cullerton?” - here, again - Tuesday, May 22, 12 @ 12:10 pm: so you see, because I will be working day and night, there are really 20 days left of session, enought time to take the train, that runs through our great state, tracks laid by hard working illinoisians, from Chicago to Springfield, and all the way back again, passing through the fields….. - OneMan - Tuesday, May 22, 12 @ 12:16 pm: Funny here,again we have footage of him talking to the kids about rail as well… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OX6KSXDz9IA&list=UUm_x1-70PWO0Np7XzPXHaew&index=3&feature=plcp - Oswego Willy - Tuesday, May 22, 12 @ 12:21 pm: “Who is more powerful, me or Mayor Emanuel? What did Mayor Emanuel say when you asked him? … oh … well, I guess he’s right…” - OneMan - Tuesday, May 22, 12 @ 12:22 pm: Student whispers to fellow student “dude, last time I heard someone ramble on and on about nothing like this it was my brother after he ate some ’special’ brownies” - Responsa - Tuesday, May 22, 12 @ 12:24 pm: Now, what time do we expect the PTO moms to show up with the cupcakes? Because there was nothing in my fridge or pantry this morning to eat for breakfast. - wordslinger - Tuesday, May 22, 12 @ 12:25 pm: –I guess if PQ can push a political agenda on schoolchildren, he’s opened up the door for teachers to do the same in their classrooms, don’t ya think?– What would that agenda be? Extending summer to four months? Making Groucho Marx’s birthday a school holiday? - Oswego Willy - Tuesday, May 22, 12 @ 12:26 pm: “No, I was not on Celebrity Apprentice …” “I will talk to the Ricketts when Mayor Emanuel tells me to, okay?” “I am not trying to ’steal the food out of your teacher’s mouth and ruining her chance of staying off welfare and living on the streets when she retires’ … which one of you wrote THAT question?” - Wensicia - Tuesday, May 22, 12 @ 12:31 pm: Caption: OK, kids, this was my practice speech. Do you think the General Assembly will buy it? If not, what’s your advice? - Oswego Willy - Tuesday, May 22, 12 @ 12:32 pm: “Now, when you get to vote in 4 years, it’s more difficult than it was for YOUR parents … For example … Your Chiacgo parents only had to “Punch 10″, or vote “Straight Party” ballots. Those were critical in the process. Now, when you vote, you have to actually go and vote for every Democrat for every office. It’s easy. You live in Chicago, so you won’t be ridiculed. I know you want to be like everyone else, so just look for that “Democrat” next to the name, and you’re done.” - wordslinger - Tuesday, May 22, 12 @ 12:33 pm: “Why can’t Fenwick beat OPRF in basketball? Well, I’m sure it’s not the coach…” - Jake From Elwood - Tuesday, May 22, 12 @ 12:36 pm: Word- The Chuck E. Cheese can be a very violent and dangerous place. Youtube Chuck E. Cheese and fight on YouTube. It turns out that it might be too dangerous of a place for a PQ presser… - wordslinger - Tuesday, May 22, 12 @ 12:43 pm: Jake, back in the day, I had the parental misfortune to go that particular Chuck E. Cheese many times. Dangerous is a good description. They served booze, which seemed like a good idea at the time, but probably wasn’t in retrospect. No one ever left happy. The parking lot was always full of over-stimulated kids who didn’t want to leave and their exhausted, brain-frazzled parents dragging them into the cars. - Just Observing - Tuesday, May 22, 12 @ 12:52 pm: === Sure, the Gov should be in Springfield. But there’s no need to insult eighth-graders. I think Gov. Quinn has a point that they need to understand the important issues of the day. Kudos to him for giving middle-schoolers credit for being capable of understanding pensions and Medicaid. === No one is insulting the kids. And while they do need to learn about current issues, that is why they have teachers, not Governors. - Univ. Retiree - Tuesday, May 22, 12 @ 1:08 pm: Wasn’t PQ the person who said he wouldn’t sleep until pension reform was taken care of? He needs some zzzzzzzz’s, cuz he’s losin’ it. Wasting time on middle school town hall meetings…. - wordslinger - Tuesday, May 22, 12 @ 1:13 pm: Willy, Julian kids do not have Chicago parents, sir. How dare you. They are Oak Parkers, denizens of a wondrous, mystical urban/suburban island the likes of which the world has never seen and people like you could never understand. There are lines, Willy, which you do not cross, and their names are North Avenue, Roosevelt Road, Austin Boulevard and Harlem Avenue. We will defend our island from the likes of you, Willy, and the barbarians of Chicago, Berwyn, Cicero, River Forest and Forest Park. We will defend our crumbling, ancient homes, and our diversity-loving, gay-marriage-approving, every-child-in-a-gifted class, no-you-can’t-park-there lifestyles to the bitter end, no matter the cost, including extraordinarily high property taxes. We will fight at the Whole Foods and the farmers market. We will fight at the Saturday morning dog parks and the Buzz Cafe. We will fight at three, count ‘em three, public libraries. We will fight at the soccer fields and the baseball diamonds. We will fight, with ever increasing confidence and strength, at the pilates studios. We will fight at excruciatingly long and dull PTO meetings, where every viewpoint is valued and valid. We will fight with home contractors who take your deposit and never return. We shall never surrender. - Oswego Willy - Tuesday, May 22, 12 @ 1:21 pm: ===They are Oak Parkers, denizens of a wondrous, mystical urban/suburban island the likes of which the world has never seen and people like you could never understand.=== Look, - wordslinger - , I am sorry … how about a Johnnie’s Beef, “Ice, no cover, big bag” … - Oswego Willy - Tuesday, May 22, 12 @ 1:23 pm: - wordslinger -, Unless you are a Jim & Pete’s on North Avenue … or maybe a Gene’s and Jude’s? We can meet at in the Dominick’s Parking lot across from St. Vincent’s - Anonymous - Tuesday, May 22, 12 @ 1:26 pm: Wait a minute. What PQ did is standard operating procedure. When you want to address any touchy subject, you find a meek and docile and compliant bunch of gnomes. Then you treat them like wallpaper and talk right over their heads, because you’re actually not talking to them at all: you’re using them as mere props, and you’re aiming for a wider audience. And you don’t want no stinkin’ questions. My favorite recent example of this was Obama going to West Point to announce that he was sending more troops to Afghanistan. The president was speaking to the nation, not to the academy. The cadets certainly weren’t going to shoot off their mouths in front of their officers and their commander-in-chief. Some of the poor sleep-deprived kids actually were dozing off as Obama spoke, for crying out loud. It was perfectly played. PQ’s only mistake in this instance was that he should have picked a different bunch of gnomes. - Anon596 - Tuesday, May 22, 12 @ 1:28 pm: Hello Boys and Girls. I will cut right to the chase…I am here recruiting for some open positions on my staff… - wordslinger - Tuesday, May 22, 12 @ 1:28 pm: Willy, Jim and Pete’s, for sure. - Oswego Willy - Tuesday, May 22, 12 @ 1:28 pm: - wordslinger -, We can head to Madison in Forest Park for an adult beverage, then get a hot dog at Parky’s on Harlem Aveune…. - Oswego Willy - Tuesday, May 22, 12 @ 1:33 pm: Good choice, wordslinger. - Responsa - Tuesday, May 22, 12 @ 1:38 pm: Winston Churchill lives!! Wordslinger, you’re on a roll. Now will you be willing to go back a few more centuries and amuse us with an OP version of the St. Crispin’s Day speech? Please? - Springfield.... - Tuesday, May 22, 12 @ 1:55 pm: Isn’t the center of the world, RM. There are a lot of suburban voters who will decide the next election, not just for their legislators but also for the Governor. Winning them over is crucial to this legislative fight as well as the overall message. It’s nice outside the bubble, try it sometime. - Oswego Willy - Tuesday, May 22, 12 @ 1:56 pm: “Look, if you guys think this is so boring, I will reduce this class by a 1/3 of you. I have done this in the past …” - Anonymous - Tuesday, May 22, 12 @ 2:02 pm: EPIC FAIL. - Oswego Willy - Tuesday, May 22, 12 @ 2:04 pm: “I am going to channel my inner-Oprah … You get a scholarship, you get a scholarship, you get a scholarship …” “Oak Park is a township, and Oak Park is a Village, with is a manner a municipality can organize itself. How cool is that?…” - Responsa - Tuesday, May 22, 12 @ 2:05 pm: “Back when I went to school we had blackboards and chalk and erasers. Sometimes when we slapped two of the erasers together the felt would give off chalk dust and make the nuns sneeze. Good times. Good times.” - Oswego Willy - Tuesday, May 22, 12 @ 2:08 pm: “The Illinois state debt is now $3,000. per person, give or take a few hundreds … so my assistant here will take YOUR names, and will ask you will you pay by Visa, Mastercard, or Certified Check …” - Oswego Willy - Tuesday, May 22, 12 @ 2:15 pm: “So, when you go home tonight, tell your parents … invading River Forest is the only way to secure your southern border.” “I think we can all be ‘real’ for a moment … the High School is called Oak Park - River forest, not River Forest - Oak Park, know what I mean?” “I asked Sen. Harmon to join me today, but he left me an email … lemme read this …’Dear Governor Quinn… thanks for the invite … here in Springfield, working … blah ….Why are you up there …. blah, blah … thank the KIDS … kids, Sen. Harmon says ‘hi’ and ‘thanks’ … ‘governor get back to work …’ Sorry, wrong email …” - Cincinnatus - Tuesday, May 22, 12 @ 2:17 pm: “My lips moved 1,237,987 times as I read these books…” “Squirrel, 12:00 High.” “Is that a snake or are you just happy to see me?” Is the Illinois flag edging away? - Responsa - Tuesday, May 22, 12 @ 2:26 pm: “What? Oh, my teleprompter’s down in Springfield this week. But frankly I prefer to speak off-the-cuff anyway.” - Inactive - Tuesday, May 22, 12 @ 2:28 pm: aimless - Pot calling kettle - Tuesday, May 22, 12 @ 2:46 pm: “I’m not going to get distracted by that subject. Sometimes, down here, shiny objects can distract people,” Quinn said. “We don’t want any of that this week.” “Oh, wait. I’m where?” - one of the 35 - Tuesday, May 22, 12 @ 3:25 pm: Welcome back populist, gadfly Quinn. We thought you had gone away! - zatoichi - Tuesday, May 22, 12 @ 3:42 pm: Well kids, in the late 60’s I was a late night DJ right here on WOPA. We played ‘Inna Gadda Da Vidda’ over and over. And look where it got me today. - OneMan - Tuesday, May 22, 12 @ 3:51 pm: Pat Quinn reminds those kids that the transportation cuts to education will not impact them since their district is geographically small and points out why it is good to be in a district like that instead of one in Soy Land… - Tommydanger - Tuesday, May 22, 12 @ 3:55 pm: “Now I know you’re here serving your detention and its really painful listening to me, but let me tell you what’s really painful…’ - TCB - Tuesday, May 22, 12 @ 3:56 pm: PQ - “Bear with me children, I feel very uncomfortable without my purple tie.” - Tommydanger - Tuesday, May 22, 12 @ 4:00 pm: “Looks like I picked the wrong week to stop taking amphetamines”. - OneMan - Tuesday, May 22, 12 @ 4:02 pm: So remember 7th graders if you don’t sell any band candy next year you have to listen to Pat Quinn - South - Tuesday, May 22, 12 @ 4:04 pm: PQ probably convinced the kids that they should not become a state employee. - OneMan - Tuesday, May 22, 12 @ 4:07 pm: The budget is sort of like that Glee show you kids like… Just the same old song, just sung a little differently. - Anonymous - Tuesday, May 22, 12 @ 4:21 pm: “Governor Quinn, in an unusual meeting with rank and file legislators held without the leadership present, discusses his budget proposals.” - Yellow Dog Democrat - Tuesday, May 22, 12 @ 4:33 pm: “And if we take these courageous steps, we can fund quality education at the 77 percent level.” - soccermom - Tuesday, May 22, 12 @ 4:37 pm: I am sorry to complain, but as an Oak Park mom I think our children deserve the full purple-tie treatment. - OneMan - Tuesday, May 22, 12 @ 4:41 pm: That is why I am going to ask the legislature to move forward a bill that will require school districts to serve pizza puffs at least twice a week… - Responsa - Tuesday, May 22, 12 @ 5:00 pm: “It has become harder and harder for my staff to elicit invitations for me to speak and create photo ops, so I appreciate very much this wonderful opportunity to stand before you today.” - sal-says - Tuesday, May 22, 12 @ 5:18 pm: quinn: yes, i’ve read all these self help books behind me, and i still can’t work with the 4 tops. - anonymous - Tuesday, May 22, 12 @ 6:29 pm: Under my proposal, you won’t be able to graduate 8th grade and start high school until you’re 17. - anonymous - Tuesday, May 22, 12 @ 9:47 pm: Living with Illinois government is like being in a never ending Saturday Night Live skit. Except funnier. - Quizzical - Tuesday, May 22, 12 @ 9:54 pm: And when you see the short red headed man in the nice suit, you should all surround him and give him a sharp karate chop in the ribs. He can’t fight back if you all hit him. Then tell him that it’s a message from the new sheriff in town — a man named Quinn. - anonymous - Tuesday, May 22, 12 @ 10:07 pm: Gov. Quinn FINALLY finds an audience that will take him seriously (unless he runs long into recess). Sorry, comments for this post are now closed.