* Dan Hynes is one-upping Gov. Pat Quinn on Quinn’s recent amendatory veto…

The state official in charge of payroll has no plans to start writing bigger paychecks for lawmakers even though a plan changing how raises occur was vetoed by the governor.

“Absent a court order or specific appropriation, nothing changes,” said Alan Henry, spokesman for Illinois Comptroller Dan Hynes, whose office processes payroll.

Quinn changed the bill to kill off future automatic cost of living raises. The GA has not yet acted on the AV, but Hynes is taking the populist road. He’s also about to formally announce his candidacy. From a press release…

Illinois Comptroller Dan Hynes will formally enter the race for the Democratic nomination for Governor Wednesday by introducing a major policy proposal that will be a hallmark of his campaign.

* Republican gubernatorial candidate Dan Proft outlines a few campaign promises in his latest press release…

1. Cut income and corporate tax rates 50%.

2. Institute statutory spending caps on the General Assembly to ensure that state spending cannot outpace the rate of population growth plus inflation year-over-year.

3. Reduce fees and consumption taxes.

4. Eliminate the estate tax.

Halving the personal and corporate income tax rate would cost about $5 billion. Eliminating the estate tax would dry up almost $300 million in revenues. “Consumption taxes” amount to well over $9 billion, depending on how they’re counted.

* I really don’t get this logic from Tribune columnist Dennis Byrne. Byrne blasts Gov. Pat Quinn for using his amendatory veto powers to add a provision to a bill which allows citizens the right to pass binding referenda to create new local ethics laws that can’t be repealed for at least four years…

Suppose that the legislature — miraculously — was of the same mind-set, and passed the amendment? Perhaps it would fire up some grass-roots anger in a few burgs, like Bolingbrook, where Mayor Roger Claar has allegedly lived high on the hog from political contributions from people and firms that do business with the suburb.

But Chicago is an entirely different hog. Chicago voters have shown themselves to be too lazy, inept, apathetic, pliable or unconcerned to organize the kind of grass-roots campaign it would take to impose ethics on the rogues they continually elect.

Excuse me? The citizens of Bolingbrook are so angry about Mayor Roger Claar that nobody filed to run against him this year. Somebody did run as a write-in, and scored a not too shabby 25 percent, but it was still just 25 percent.

Meanwhile, in Chicago, special election voters this year ignored the “Machine” candidates and elected noted reformer Mike Quigley to Congress.

I usually just ignore Byrne. But that comparison was just bizarre, man.

* Speaking of Quigley, he’s expectedly endorsed Rep. John Fritchey for the county board. From a press release…

In a significant political announcement, State Rep. John Fritchey stated that he will not seek re-election to the General Assembly seat that he has held since 1996, opting to run to fill the vacancy created by Cook County Commissioner Forrest Claypool, who has announced he will not be running for another term. Congressman Mike Quigley and Commissioner Claypool joined Rep. Fritchey at his announcement and pledged their full support of Fritchey’s bid, citing the need for the County Board to have a proven reformer who can hit the ground running.

* The Sun-Times whacks Speaker Madigan on his law firm’s apparent conflict of interest…

Madigan is right when he says he has broken no laws by doing property tax work for companies that do state business, but he is wrong when he says there is no potential conflict of interest.

We see two ways to resolve the problem:

• • Madigan’s law firm, Madigan & Getzendanner, could disclose the names of every client who even remotely does business with the state. We’re skeptical of Madigan’s claim, made Monday in response to the Sun-Times story, that the canon of ethics for lawyers prohibits him from doing so. Ald. Ed Burke routinely lists all his law clients who do city business on his ethics statements.

• • Madigan’s law firm could stop doing legal work of any kind for anybody who does business with the state.

That doesn’t seem unreasonable to me. And, frankly, with the Joe Berrios county assessor candidacy looming, it would be a prudent move, FBI-wise.

* Now that Bobby Rush has endorsed Cheryle Jackson, could a Pat Quinn endorsement be far behind? [/snark]. From a press release…

U.S. Senate candidate Cheryle Robinson Jackson today received key endorsements from U.S. Representative Bobby Rush, State Senator Rev. James Meeks and the Cook County Democratic Women Organization for her bid to fill the Illinois seat once held by President Barack Obama. These early endorsements signal strong support from the community.

“Cheryle is exactly who Illinois needs in the U.S. Senate,” said Rush. “Like many of us, she worked her way up to become a force for change and progress for everyday people. She understands from personal experience how important quality health care, education, and access to good jobs and opportunities are to Illinois families. She’ll take that fight to Washington.”

In his own way, Rush is one of the most powerful forces in Illinois politics. He’s made Gov. Quinn back away from more positions than just about anyone else.

* Campaign news you can use…

I spy . . .

GOP U.S. Senate hopeful Mark Kirk spotted dining on a BLT sandwich with Thousand Island dressing, accompanied by 13 others, at Little Ricky’s eatery in Winnetka Sunday night following his North Shore fund-raising bash starring former GOP presidential hopeful John McCain

Or not.

* Related…

* Quinn set to visit Quincy: Gov. Pat Quinn is headed to west central Illinois to dedicate a $295 million highway project.

* SJ-R: Let’s have real ethics reform

* Illinois deserves better; reform veto should be first step

* University of Illinois: President B. Joseph White and Chancellor Richard Herman blame each other

* Faculty puts off vote on U of I president, chancellor