* Gov. Quinn, the man behind the wheel

“I know people around the governor,” said the man, who does know such people, “and they’re worried about him. They say he’s driving himself on expressways, talking on his cell phone, and they’re worried about his safety. My understanding is he’s driving a Taurus with over 200,000 miles on it.”

* Pastors want calls for Burris resignation to end

Several Chicago-area religious leaders are threatening to bring masses of people down to Springfield if politicians don’t stop calling for Senator Roland Burris to resign.

* Burris hangs on despite furor over Blagojevich

* ‘Burris for Senate’ website boots up . . . just in case

* AG sues Blagojevich friend for more than $3.9 million over alleged contract fraud

The Illinois attorney general today sued a defunct Chicago company run by a friend of former Gov. Rod Blagojevich, alleging it fraudulently billed the state for more than $1.3 million in drug tests it never performed.

The owner of the company already faces criminal fraud charges that sprung from an internal state investigation that began after the Chicago Tribune wrote about the owner’s ties to Blagojevich.

The civil suit brought by Attorney General Lisa Madigan alleges that Anita K. Mahajan through her company K.K. Bio-Science Inc. knowingly billed the state from at least January 2004 until November 2006 for drug testing services it never performed for state child custody cases. The lawsuit seeks more than $3.9 million in damages and penalties.

* State sues ex-vendor tied to Rod Blagojevich

* Illinois attorney general sues drug-testing firm

Mahajan was involved in real-estate transactions that in 2006 netted Patti Blagojevich $113,000 in commissions. Mahajan’s husband, Amrish, was a major fundraiser for the impeached ex-governor in the Indian-American community.

* Madigan sues Frankfort ad company

A Frankfort auto advertising company created “false, inaccurate and misleading” radio ads tied to the recently enacted federal stimulus package, Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan said in announcing a lawsuit against the company Tuesday.

The complaint alleges that Prime Market Targeting Inc. violated state consumer fraud statutes. The company said it would not comment on the lawsuit.

* Tammy Duckworth’s D.C. post still on hold

It turns out Obama did not actually nominate Duckworth on Feb. 3, but only indicated his intent to nominate the Iraq war veteran. The White House has still not sent Duckworth’s nomination to the U.S. Senate.

* Commission hears residents’ opinions on government reform

* Reopening state parks tops new DNR director’s long list

* Prison situation unresolved as other jobs leave Pontiac

* Stock futures point higher after 5 days of selling

* State’s late payments strain many agencies

Hynes’ office has more than $2.8 billion of bills awaiting payment; another estimated $1.6 billion is still being processed by the Department of Healthcare and Family Services. And by the end of June, the state has to pay back a $1.4 billion short-term loan it took out in December to ease a massive backlog of bills then.

That’s $5.8 billion owed on state contracts for services already rendered.

* Stimulus Could Force Illinois to Mend Ways

The thing that might rescue health care in Illinois isn’t the money in the stimulus package. It’s the strings attached to the money.

Illinois has been a bit of a deadbeat. The state has piles of unpaid bills—including $2 billion just for Medicaid reimbursements. Now this massive backlog, which has dogged the state for years, could be virtually zeroed out by summer. That’s thanks to the federal stimulus package. But a little-noticed technicality could mean that some people who provide healthcare might not get the benefits.

* State’s stimulus Web site now taking requests

* Southland mayors move to grab their towns a slice of the stimulus package

Tinley Park leaders are bound for Washington, D.C., today, armed with a 12-page packet detailing about $200 million in projects they hope federal dollars will cover.

* Stalled developments torpedo suburban plans

As projected revenues fail to materialize, local governments looking to revise budgets

* School libraries get state aid

Last month Secretary of State and State Librarian Jesse White announced the fiscal year 2009 school district library grants.

It’s $1.4 million for 1.9 million students using 3,400 school libraries in 719 school districts.

* Catholics look to state for boost in school subsidy

Catholic leaders want Illinois taxpayers to pay an estimated $70 million more next year to subsidize private schools.

The current credit is worth $500 and cost Illinois taxpayers $71.8 million in 2007. Nearly half of the credit went to families earning more than $100,000 annually, according to figures provided by the Illinois Department of Revenue.

Doubling the credit to $1,000 could cost taxpayers an estimated $140 million

* Federal money for ‘black institutions’ pays for programs at 4 Chicago colleges

The U.S. Department of Education has awarded grants to four Chicago colleges for a combined $4.8 million over the next two years.

* FutureGen confusion

Regardless of the record of decision, FutureGen is eligible for the $1 billion in grants included in the stimulus package for fossil fuel research. The money could be given to one project or split up over several. Chu could hand it out as he sees fit, or several projects may be given the opportunity to compete for the money. According to a timeline on the federal stimulus Web site, agencies must start reporting on these competitive grants by May 20. Even if FutureGen got all the funding, it would not be enough to cover the plant’s estimated $1.8 billion dollar price tag.

* Bad PR forces City Hall to cancel contracts

The Daley administration on Tuesday abruptly canceled 11 public relations contracts with a $55 million pricetag to drive home the point that taxpayers cannot afford to augment the highly controlled message coming out of City Hall.

“We get it. We absolutely get it. We understand that it would seem absurd at a time like this to be using taxpayer funds for this kind of non-essential service,” said mayoral press secretary Jacquelyn Heard.

* In peril: College’s effort to aid women

Essential support came from a college program that provides tuition assistance and other help to low-income women who have gone through divorce, single parenthood or unemployment. Many participants have been victims of domestic abuse.

In existence nearly 40 years, the program is now financially threatened, officials say. Last fall, the state eliminated support for such initiatives at 10 community colleges, including nearly $60,000 a year that had been the primary funding of the Harper women’s program. A $500,000 donation from John Canning, chairman of investment firm Madison Dearborn Partners, and his wife, Rita, kept it afloat, but Harper officials say more money is needed for it to survive.

* CTA’s new voice: Carolyn Hopkins

* Amnesty raises $7 mil., now boots are coming

Chicago raked in $7 million and wiped 135,000 unpaid parking and red-light tickets off the books during a 10-week amnesty that sets the stage for a booting blitz.

Sometime in April, the threshold for applying the wheel-locking Denver boot will drop from three unpaid tickets to two older than one year. When the amnesty opened, 170,000 motorists fell into that category.

* Chicago police officer pleads guilty in towing probe

* Seven Officers Await Punishment for Involvement with Teenage Cop Impersonator

* A new brush with history

Talk of Sears Tower makeover creates big buzz

* The Straw Man

Why everyone in every race seems to be running against Todd Stroger.

* Foley appears to be good fit to fix county health system

The independent board overseeing Cook County’s huge health system, including Stroger Hospital, recently named a new chief, William Foley, to run its nearly $1 billion operation.

He’s a proven turnaround artist for financially ailing hospitals, here in Illinois and in California.

* Suburban park districts playing catch-up with fitness chains

Park districts and communities throughout the south and southwest suburbs are expanding hours, adding machines, making renovations and offering classes (like aerobics and yoga), all to offer their residents an alternative to private gyms.

* CN not ready to announce EJ & E reroutes

Railway also has no timetable for when it will start federally mandated work

* New trains coming? Not today, says CN