* I haven’t been giving this story nearly the play it deserves. That ends today. Here’s some background…

Chicago and more than 20 other school districts around Illinois have been denied $150 million in construction money. Gov. Rod Blagojevich said the districts were ineligible because their paperwork had not been filed on time, according to irate lawmakers and school officials.

* The schools have been promised this money for years, but Blagojevich has never followed through.

The project funding was included in the supplemental appropriations bill. which passed both chambers in late May, and was sent to the governor by the Senate in mid June. The governor signed the bill last week. He waited because it also included a legislative cost of living pay raise, and he was playing games with the bill.

* But there’s a problem…

But the governor’s office said the schools cannot get the money because they should have completed agreements with the Capital Development Board, a state agency overseen by Blagojevich that supervises construction projects, before the end of the fiscal year that ended June 30.

The schools couldn’t do that because CDB was apparently not taking applications since the bill wasn’t signed into law, and even though the governor had the bill in his possession two weeks before the end of the fiscal year, he waited until long afterwards to sign it. A Catch 22 situation, to be sure.

* As the Daily Herald rightfully points out…

The Democratic governor isn’t always a stickler for procedure.

He has twice spent money on stem cell research without legislative approval. Last year, he started sending emergency repair money to Carterville High School even though it isn’t on the priority list. Last week, he announced he would expand health programs that lawmakers had refused to fund.

* The governor’s response? More buck-passing…

Blagojevich says the answer is for legislators to approve a new construction bill.

So, in other words, unless the General Assembly approves the allegedly “pork hating” governor’s heavily porked-up, multi-billion dollar capital bill, the schools in question will continue to be denied the funds they’ve been promised for years.

Just ducky.

* He also is doing a bit of disengenuous attacking…

Blagojevich’s office circulated vote tallies Tuesday to show the lawmakers calling for the schools’ money voted against the plan to grant it.

Except, remember, Chicago is in line for a big chunk of that money. And most Chicago legislators voted for the supplemental approp.

* Meanwhile, the Comptroller can’t send out new state aid checks to schools because the governor hasn’t yet signed the state budget. Schools were promised no-interest loans to help make it through any budgetary glitches, but there’s bad news…

The Illinois State Board of Education developed a plan with the Illinois Finance Authority to provide districts an advance on general state aid at no interest. However, that program was suspended before any money was funneled out because Gov. Blagojevich announced his veto would not affect general state aid, said spokesman Matt Vanover.

More likely, the administration realized that the program was ill-devised and possibly illegal. Once again, the press release was put before the work-horse.

* Somewhat related: Budget woes could impact toddlers in early intervention - Contracting therapists not getting paid

* And: Chicago Heights may lose state money

Scully told the council he had done his job in trying to obtain resources from Springfield, and said that although he does not know how Blagojevich will decide what to trim from the budget, “he has pretty much specifically said the House Democrats are gonna get their projects cut.”

[Chicago Heights Mayor Anthony DeLuca] expressed his bewilderment that Blagojevich, a Democrat, would look to cut funding from the communities of his fellow party members.

“It seems these days, the governor’s doing a lot of things that are shocking, so I guess it’s not surprising,” DeLuca said.