* From the Tribune we find a story about the company which manages the state Lottery…

Northstar Lottery Group — which took charge of daily operations July 1, a few days after the Illinois auditor general blasted the selection process — promised to boost revenue by more than $100 million.

While the dollars are indeed up, they are expected to fall $55 million short of their projections, renewing criticism from those who had opposed the deal.

* The company promised $825 million in total revenues. It’s on track to bring in $770 million. That may actually be a $100 million increase, as you’ll find if you read way down deep into the article explains…

Northstar said several factors led to the lowered forecast, chief among them the fact that the lottery’s revenue for the previous fiscal year was about $668 million, not the $712 million the state anticipated.

But, as the article notes, the Lottery claims it transfered $690 million last fiscal year to the state budget. Nobody could explain the discrepancy.

Northstar has to meet a specific goal or it’ll be fined. According to the Trib, if the company hits the $770 million projection, it would owe nearly $11 million in penalties…

In a move aimed at avoiding possible penalties, Northstar wants the state to lower the goals.

Officials with Northstar and the Illinois Lottery refused to discuss what new revenue targets the company is seeking through arbitration.

What we really need here are the real numbers. The Lottery needs to start sharing. Pronto.