* Yesterday, in an ironic twist, the Southern Illinoisan published a letter to the editor from Christopher A. Koch, the State Superintendent of Education. Koch bitterly complained in the letter that the House had not yet approved a budget implementation bill, which had already passed the Senate…

The price of the House’s unfinished business is hundreds of millions of dollars for local schools - $547,117 for Carbondale Elementary School District 95; $404,485 for Carbondale Community High School District 95; $430,960 for Trico CUSD 176.

By not approving the implementation bill that authorizes the State Board of Education to release these dollars, school districts have to put on hold plans to hire new teachers, reading specialists or tutors, as well as the purchase of new textbooks or laboratory equipment.

This simply isn’t right. I ask you to contact your legislators and urge the House to pass legislation that allows schools to receive the funding they were promised.

Trouble is, the House has, indeed, passed a BIMP bill and the Senate quickly followed suit. The letter had apparenty been sitting in the Southern’s in-box for several weeks and nobody at the editorial page bothered to check if the Superintendent’s complaint was still valild.

Oops.

* But here’s the rub: The governor has not yet signed that BIMP bill, which Superintendent Koch was so impatient to see enacted when he wrote the original letter…

Blagojevich spokeswoman Rebecca Rausch had little to say on the matter Thursday.

“The BIMP is under review,” she wrote in an e-mailed response.

* Over a month ago, Superintendent Koch had this to say…

State School Superintendent Christopher Koch wrote to local school chiefs that general state aid payments would decline beginning in November unless Blagojevich and lawmakers agree to raise the foundation level. Through October, the board intends to make general state aid payments at last year’s levels.

“We cannot continue to pay … at (fiscal) 2007 levels past the second payment in October,” Koch wrote.

* And more than two months ago, Gov. Blagojevich was whacking Speaker Madigan for not hurrying up already…

Gov. Rod Blagojevich sent letters to every school district in the state Friday, warning local superintendents that inaction by lawmakers means they’ll lose millions in state money.

In the letter, the governor laid the blame squarely on House Speaker Michael Madigan, a fellow Chicago Democrat he has squabbled with all year. […]

“The Speaker of the House, Michael Madigan, is the only person who can call an implementation bill for a vote,” Blagojevich writes in the letter.

Get on with it, already.

* More budget and session stuff, compiled by Paul…

* Daley: Republican leaders making CTA a scapegoat

* CTA Union bosses threaten strike as ‘doomsday’ looms

* Transit unions fear demise of deal on pensions, health care

* New CTA ‘doomsday’ threat is transit workers strike

* Judge: Can’t punish schools for breaking silence law

* Silence on hold for now

* Chicago Public Radio: Illinois’ moment of silence in legal limbo

* Moment of silence on hold

* Law could be silenced

* Tribune Editorial: A moment to lose

* Editorial: A sensible reflection bill