* Despite all the parallel universe pronouncements emanating from the governor’s office, Statehouse reporters didn’t even come close to buying the official spin about the Senate’s override yesterday of Blagojevich’s ethics amendatory veto.

Sun-Times…

In a 55-0 defeat for Gov. Blagojevich, the Senate Monday rejected his rewrite of an ethics package and reinstituted an earlier ban on political contributions from big state contractors who have been the governor’s financial lifeblood.

“This shows he has zero credibility on the issue,” said Comptroller Dan Hynes, who was one of the guiding forces behind the new restrictions.

Tribune…

In an overwhelming rebuke of scandal-tarred Gov. Rod Blagojevich, Illinois lawmakers on Monday approved the state’s first ban on campaign donations from supporters seeking lucrative state contracts.

AP…

The action was a defeat for the governor, who used his veto power to rewrite and “improve” the bill with other ethics measures.

Post-Dispatch…

The vote is a stinging rebuke to Blagojevich, who had vetoed the ethics bill while offering what he said was a superior alternative. Critics said that move was actually designed to kill the reform and keep in place an unrestricted political system that Blagojevich has used to raise millions of campaign dollars.

* Meanwhile, as I told you yesterday, the Senate Executive Committee advanced the governor’s AV proposal as an amendment…

The Senate Executive Committee advanced a bill including his ethics ideas to the Senate floor Monday evening, possibly setting up a vote today.

Blagojevich applauded the Senate for advancing his ideas while playing down the significance of the ethics override vote.

“The General Assembly didn’t really move the ball forward. They only followed my lead and are just now catching up with something that I did two months ago,” Blagojevich said in a statement.

If that’s voted on today, we could be in session a while longer.

* The committee hearing was truly a sight to behold…

[Cindi Canary, director of the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform] testified against the legislation, saying reform groups continue to meet with the governor’s office to refine the ideas, but that they’re not ready to become law. Reformers prefer an across-the-board limit on contributions each election, as is the case for federal races and in most states.

That bill’s sponsor, Sen. James DeLeo, D-Chicago, said if the Legislature wants ethics reform, it should go all out.

“If you do business in government, if you make money off the taxpayers, don’t contribute,” DeLeo said.

* More from the hearing…

Cindi Canary… said it felt odd, but she had to oppose the [governor’s] new measure during a Senate committee Monday evening. She said the more expansive ethics legislation is “not ready for prime time, yet.”

She said she supports the concept but believes the governor’s proposal isn’t the right vehicle for enacting contribution limits on legislators. Banning state contractors from donating to elected officials who have no control over state contracts could invite a legal challenge based on the First Amendment that protects free speech, she said. She also questioned the fallout of prohibiting active state legislators from also working in some public sector jobs but not others. And she said the one aspect that would be ready to go if it were proposed as a stand-alone measure is the portion that would clarify the system of approving legislative pay raises.

* Fritchey gets the last word…

I don’t have the energy right now to go into my thoughts on what the Governor will likely do next. But I can’t help but think that, regardless of what his next steps may be, that he would have been a lot better off just signing this bill in the first place.

* There was another ethics override yesterday…

The Senate also voted to override an amendatory veto on another measure requiring stricter disclosure for campaign committees. Blagojevich had changed that bill to ban campaign contributions from any government employee, state or local. That measure, without the governor’s change, goes to the House.

* In other news, this wrinkle in the supplemental appropriations negotiations caused quite a stir yesterday…

Sen. Donne Trotter, a Chicago Democrat and budget negotiator, said the Senate Democrats found $42 million of that $221 million that they would like to spend in a different way than approved by the House. That includes $37 million the House included to reimburse mass transit districts for the free rides granted to seniors and people with disabilities enacted earlier this year. The Senate Democrats would take that out and shift the funding, for instance, to increase the amount of money for college grants through the Monetary Award Program. The House also would restore funding for constitutional officers at 100 percent of the original funding level, while the Senate Democrats would restore them at 75 percent.

* More…

Republicans are involved in the budget negotiations. According to Patty Schuh, spokeswoman for Senate Minority Leader Frank Watson, the GOP Caucus prioritizes restoring funding for state parks, historic sites and human services. But members argue that it doesn’t make sense to restore funding to the parks and historic sites and then sweep money from the special fund dedicated to the Department of Natural Resources.

* Other Senate action…

— Rejected the governor’s third effort to require insurance coverage of autism treatment, even though he called a special session Monday morning specifically on that issue.

— Voted 55-0 to allow another ethics bill to proceed without the governor’s proposed ban on political donations by state and local government employees, saying it went too far.

“The governor’s veto basically had no rational point of view why he vetoed it,” said Sen. Terry Link, D-Waukegan, in pushing for the override.

— By the same vote, overrode Blagojevich vetoes that would have required some hospitals to provide more discounts to uninsured patients, and that would have forced schools to develop policies to deal with students with severe food allergies.

Blagojevich said in a statement he was “extremely disappointed” by the Senate votes, calling the food allergy vote a “regrettable action.”

* Related…

* Britt: Toon on Gov. Blagojevich and ethics legislation

* SJ-R Opinion: State’s sunshine law needs rewrite

* Senate overrides veto of hotel tax bill

* Senate overrides vetoes affecting Milan, West Frankfort and Morton

* DeWitt Chairman invites governor to Weldon Springs meeting

* Lawmakers search for compromise to keep parks, sites open