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I don’t know whether the governor’s staff is lying to him, whether he’s not smart enough to understand the bill or whether he is deliberately not telling the truth. But this statement about the electric rate relief bill is completely outside the realm of reality…

“I met someone not too long ago in southern Illinois who told me that his electric bill went from $100 a month to $300 a month when Ameren decided to raise rates,” the Democratic governor said in audio posted on the Web site of Illinois Information Service Radio, an arm of state government.

“Now, the agreement that was passed provides for about $12 in relief to the average Ameren customer. So that means that that fellow, who’s paying $200 more for his electric bill, at best might only end up paying $188 more, and so the question is: Is that the best possible deal we can get for people?”

When asked later how the governor had arrived at those figures, Blagojevich spokeswoman Rebecca Rausch said, “It’s based on averages, based on the legislation that was sent to us.”

But Shelley Epstein, a spokesman for the Ameren Illinois utilities, said he is “not quite sure what the governor is talking about.”

“His math is not right,” Epstein added. “People who had the largest increases will get the most relief.”

Ameren has said that all of its residential customers will see a minimum credit of $100 in 2007, which breaks down to a little more than $8 a month.

Epstein said the customers who are in line for $100 credits saw their power bills go up by just $150 annually. A customer whose bill increased by $200 a month should see “substantially more” in relief, he said.

If a customer’s bill tripled, that person’s rate relief would be many times higher than what the governor claimed. In the case cited above, the relief would be about $100 a month.

This is just beyond the pale. Criticize the bill all you want, but tell the truth, governor. Or is that just too difficult for you to do?

Meanwhile, Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn has had enough…

Lieutenant Governor Pat Quinn says the gridlock over a new state budget shows why Illinois needs to let angry voters throw politicians out of office.

The Chicago Democrat says other states have recall provisions that remind politicians they can be removed if they do a bad job.

Quinn told WLS radio today that it’s time for Illinois to “put it on the books.”