* I like automatic voter registration. The governor appears to be on board. So, work with the Board of Elections to fix any problems and get it done…

A plan allowing automatic voter registration in Illinois is advancing through the Legislature despite concerns from the leading state election authority that would have to implement it.

Backers want Illinois to join Oregon, California and West Virginia in modernizing voter registration. They say it cleans up voter rolls and boosts civic participation.

However, the Illinois State Board of Elections says it’s opposed because officials don’t currently have a program to put it into place and it could cost millions of dollars. The proposal calls for an initial Sept. 1 deadline to update files. The whole plan would have to be in place by 2018.

* This is a very good story about the legislative process and pressure groups…

What initially seemed like a feel-good animal rescue bill has sparked a fight between the University of Illinois and a lawmaker who says the state’s largest public university is deliberately withholding information about its animal research programs.

Under a measure nicknamed “the beagle bill,” Sen. Linda Holmes started out wanting to require universities to offer healthy cats and dogs to rescue organizations when they are no longer needed for testing. The Democrat from Aurora, who describes herself as a longtime animal lover and former Humane Society volunteer, argues that since research dogs and cats cost thousands of dollars, taxpayers should be given the chance to adopt the animals.

Beagles are the breed of dogs most commonly used for experiments, and the adoption effort is being pushed by the Beagle Freedom Project, a group that has successfully lobbied for similar legislation in Minnesota, Connecticut, Nevada and California. The idea is to prevent research animals from automatically being euthanized.

But the legislation has stalled after heated debate at a hearing where universities led by the U. of I. said they already have adoption polices in place. As such, several lawmakers questioned weather Holmes’ bill was a solution in search of a problem.

Go read the whole thing.

* This can’t happen without a “non-budget” agreement…

When state budget negotiators put together a framework for a balanced spending plan, they included a list of things that could generate $5.4 billion in revenue.

An income tax increase was on the list, as was extending the sales tax to some state services, ending some corporate tax breaks and taxing sugary drinks.

Oh, and you might as well throw in gambling expansion for good measure.

During an appearance on WGN radio’s Sunday Spin program, one of those budget negotiators, Sen. Donne Trotter, D-Chicago, talked about the various revenue options.

“Also on the table is that old standby of looking at the possibility to expand gaming here in the state of Illinois,” Trotter said.

* And speaking of a non-budget deal…

Greg Baise, president of the Illinois Manufacturers’ Association, said business leaders are willing to back a tax increase but not without a commitment to changing workers’ compensation laws and holding the line on property taxes, another item on Rauner’s agenda.

But Sean Stott, director of government relations for the Midwest region for the Laborers’ International Union, said Rauner is pushing workers’ compensation changes that rank-and-file lawmakers took off the table months ago.

“They are categorically anti-middle class, and they’re just a giveaway to big business,” Stott said.

Negotiators are not talking about stuff that lawmakers “took off the table months ago.” The playing field has changed. It’s time for the working groups to tell everybody what they’re up to.