State Governance

* Gov signs texting law

Statewide ban starts Jan. 1, enforcement questions linger

* Quinn to Ill. drivers: Put down your cell phones

* Text-ban law for drivers signed by Gov. Pat Quinn

* Local cops back no-texting law but say it’s hard to enforce

* Q. & A. on texting ban

* SJ-R: Ban on texting while driving was the right move

* Illinois launches construction zone Web site

* Admission hike on tap for Illinois State Fair

* Preschool funding not as dire as expected, area administrators learn

* Durbin introduces bill to help rural hospitals

Election 2010

* Gov. Quinn slams Hynes’ challenge

* Hynes: I’ll bring independence to governor’s race

* Dan Hynes declares candidacy for Illinois governor, will challenge Pat Quinn in primary

* Hynes makes run for governor official, sets up battle with Quinn

* Race Begins for Quinn, Hynes

* Birkett drops race against AG Madigan

* DuPage County State’s Attorney Joe Birkett drops bid for attorney general

* Birkett says he can’t beat Madigan, bows out of attorney general race

* Birkett out of AG race

* RAJA KRISHNAMOORTHI: I AM RUNNING FOR ILLINOIS STATE COMPTROLLER (Announced VIA Email)

* Wiped out Tipsville . . .

Yipes! Sneed is told the Merchandise Mart’s Chris Kennedy, who has yet to publicly announce a decision on his political future, broke four ribs while water skiing near the famed Kennedy family compound in Hyannis Port, Mass.

Municipalities; County Governance

* Cook County Assessor Houlihan announces retirement

* Keeping their citizens in the dark

* Stroger’s HIV vaccine testing proposal hits a stumbling block

* HIV Vaccine Prototype Shot Down by Cook County

* Grand jury investigating Chicago Public Schools

* Federal grand jury asks whether public officials clouted students into Chicago’s top high schools

* Subpoena for Top Education Official Released

* Chicago 2016 Olympics: Member of city’s bid team has deal to develop land near park earmarked for the Games

* City creating TIF to draw $100 million to transform hospital into Olympic Village

* United defends decision to move into known terrorist target

* Law enforcement ending Burr Oak presence

* Landmarks panel hears Gropius plea to save some buildings on Michael Reese site

On Thursday, the Daley-appointed Commission on Chicago Landmarks agreed with preservationists and said some buildings on the Gropius-designed campus should be saved. The commission voted against a recommendation that the entire 37-acre site go on the National Register of Historic Places, but it invited preservationists to submit a limited application for particular Reese buildings.

* Bud Billiken Parade Celebrates 80 Years

* One of Burnham pavilions in Millennium Park to close next week for repairs

Ethics & Reform

* Don’t mess with bill on freedom of information

* Give us all freedom of information

* U. of I. president indicates he won’t resign–for now

* State report blasts U of I for admissions abuses

* Clout panel to U. of I. trustees: Quit

* UI admissions panel: The leadership failed

* ‘A crisis of its own making’

* U of I President Ready to Make Admissions Policy Changes

* Christina Tobin on Reality Report

Christina Tobin, Founder and Chair of Free & Equal Elections, interviewed on Reality Report, discusses the origin, purpose, and structure of the organization; petition drive efforts, including challenges and lawsuits here in Illinois; actions of elected Illinois politicians; and other issues affecting Illinois and elsewhere.