· Editorial: Rod Blagojevich sounded more like a king than a governor this week in announcing $10 million in grants for stem-cell research in Illinois. “I’m not going to wait for a bunch of politicians in Springfield who won’t do the right thing to help cure diseases,” the governor said without making distinctions between legislative supporters and opponents.

· Editorial: Not-so-special funds

· Gas prices fuel debate on taxes in race for Illinois governor

· [Mayor] Daley on Thursday expressed hope that the General Assembly, after the fall election, will consider a swap involving an increase in the state’s income tax in return for a statewide cut in property taxes.

· State disciplines mortgage firms

· Long ballot could be split in 2

· Hiram has a good, link-filled post on Dan Hynes’ ethics proposal.

· Looking for a lunch activity? Senate GOP spokesperson Patti Schuh, Senate Dem spokesperson Cindy Davidsmeyer and House Dem spokesman Steve Brown are speaking at the East Bank Club at noon today. No Dring, apparently.

· Speaker Madigan presses national banks to sign lending vow

· Friday beer blogging.

· Starved Rock struggles; Park services dwindle; state says it’s `doing more with less’… and Topinka outlines her vision of what IDNR could become

· Oops:

       

8 Comments - Anonymous - Friday, Apr 28, 06 @ 6:20 am: tick, tock….. - Disgusted - Friday, Apr 28, 06 @ 7:07 am: So he’s not going to wait for a bunch of politicians in Springfield, is he? How soon we forget! Wasn’t he one of those types not too long ago, before his father-in-law boosted him up through the ranks. I’d call him a hypocrite (among 100 other names) but given his college grades, he probably doesn’t understand the definition of the word. (Is it just a coincidence that the security numbers for this post contain 666?? - Leroy - Friday, Apr 28, 06 @ 7:08 am: Blago on stem cells: “While we are forced to live in a democracy with several branches of government, sometimes in a democracy the process is frustratingly slow.” - Say what now - Friday, Apr 28, 06 @ 7:42 am: Obviously, Rod’s concept of “democracy” involves making decisions without the input of the duly elected representatives of the people he claims to speak for. - Smoke em - Friday, Apr 28, 06 @ 8:33 am: I think you could change the date on the rolling papers and use them to promote the next Chicago election. Now THAT will be a Lollapalooza! - Reddbyrd - Friday, Apr 28, 06 @ 8:34 am: Hey forget about GRod and Judy Bore Topinka…Go check out Patty and Cindy and the mope from Madigan’s staff at lunch - Randall Sherman - Friday, Apr 28, 06 @ 10:05 am: If the Cook County Board had enough members with a backbone, they would tell County Clerk David Orr where he can shove this two-ballot scheme for the November election, and call for Orr’s resignation. If they did so, their resolution could have some impact, since the Board controls the budget for Orr’s office. - non-baked - Friday, Apr 28, 06 @ 11:04 am: Since some reporters still like to ask candidates if they’ve ever smoked pot, maybe the reporters who attended should tell us which of them put the rolling papers to good use. Sorry, comments for this post are now closed.