* The AP runs what could be the most misleading Illinois lede of the month…

Two years ago, state Sen. Bill Brady of Bloomington gave a state medical school scholarship worth almost $24,000 to the daughter of a man who has donated thousands of dollars to him.

Why is that lede so misleading? Because it more than just implies a direct quid pro quo. And there doesn’t appear to be one at all. Eleven grafs into the story we learn this..

Brady, like most lawmakers who agreed to talk about the scholarships, said his winners are chosen by a committee made up mainly of educators, that he picks. Brady said committee members don’t know applicants’ names, and the $12,000 homebuilder Jeff Stelle has donated played no role in the scholarship to Stelle’s daughter, who got a free year of medical school at Southern Illinois University.

“My staff simply tells me who the eight winners are and I tell them congratulations,” said Brady, a Republican candidate for governor.

Brady has a committee of educators hand out the scholarships to kids whose names are kept secret from them. Yet, the lede is about one contribution from one recipient’s father. The story’s second graf claims that this situation “isn’t uncommon,” a handy double negative that masks the actual situation.

Look, there are lots and lots of good reasons to oppose the legislative scholarship program. But singling out Brady on this one doesn’t seem fair at all, particularly since there are others who have direct control over their own legislative scholarships.

* Speaking of misleading claims, Chicago’s Binny’s Beverage Depot has apparently reverted to fear mongering and untruths to sell more booze with a new ad campaign…

“Buy now and beat the liquor tax increase!!! Illinois just passed the largest alcohol tax increase in state history.”

Actually, a liquor tax hike a decade ago (which, like this one, was used to pay for a capital bill) was higher. And how much will this one cost?

Susan Hofer, spokeswoman for the Illinois Department of Revenue, argued that the excise tax wasn’t as harsh as the ad campaign suggested. For a one-fifth bottle of distilled spirits, the tax would jump from 90 cents to $1.71; the tax on a bottle of wine would increase 13 cents to 28 cents; a six-pack of beer would go from 10.4 cents to 13 cents, Hofer said.

2.6 cents on a six pack. Such a travestyl

* Related…

* Feds subpoena Chicago Public School principal: Whitney Young Magnet Principal Joyce Kenner on Monday became the first principal to reveal she has been subpoenaed by a federal grand jury investigating admissions to Chicago’s elite college prep high schools but insisted she “did nothing wrong'’ and has no clue why she is being summoned.

* Chicago selective enrollment high schools face huge demand for few spots - Amid federal investigation of admissions, parents and students complain the process is complicated and secretive

* University of Illinois clout scandal: 2 holdout trustees could get booted - Senate President John Cullerton threatens legislation