I missed these earlier and rather than do yet another update, I figured I’d give the links their own posts.

· Charlie Johnston: “The hot rumor flying around Springfield and Chicago yesterday was that State Sen. James Meeks and Jim Oberweis were going to team up in a third-party run for governor and lite guv.”

· Cal Skinner: “The End of the (Political) World As We Know It?” Read the whole thing. Very good stuff.

· Tom Roeser: The idea, propounded by the minister-pol, that State Senator James Meeks would be attractive to social conservatives and thus could get votes beyond the African American community as the nominee of an “Honesty and Integrity” third party is ridiculous. Meeks is proposing an income tax hike to cover a $1 billion hike in educational spending and supports further gun-control. These don’t go hand-in-hand with social conservatism, a philosophy that needs a perfect four-pro-life, anti-special favoritism for gays, anti-gun control and no new taxes in order to be effective. But if his candidacy really got going, it would depress Blagojevich’s numbers, that’s for sure…

· How many aldermen met with James Meeks yesterday? Tribune says 9. Sun-Times says “about a dozen.” ABC7 says 14.

· NBC5 has posted an online poll asking whether Meeks should run for governor.

· New SurveyUSA numbers. Durbin, 48 percent job approval, 40 percent disapprove. Obama, 70 percent approval, 25 percent disapprove. Trendlines here and here.

· Hiram: Democratic unity in DuPage, part 1 and part 2.

· “An effort to stop radical anti-gay protesters from disrupting soldiers’ funerals is hung up in the Illinois Senate, as proponents wrestle with union concerns that the law could be used to curtail legitimate labor protests by cemetery workers.”

· The Ten Commandments for CTA riders

· 11th Hour disagrees with Leach on seatbelt stuff.

· Primary colors.

UPDATE:

· Huh?

Visitors to Illinois’ capital city last week might have been wondering if they’d taken a wrong turn somewhere in Iowa. Flying atop a state historic building under construction across the street from the busy Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum was a University of Iowa Hawkeyes flag.

The flag flapped in the spring breeze for at least a couple of days before state officials discovered it and had the banner removed over the weekend. “When we found out about it, we immediately contacted the contractor and had them take the flag down,” said David Blanchette, spokesman for the Illinois Capital Development Board. “Only U.S. and state flags should be flying on top of state buildings, whether under construction or otherwise.

UPDATE 2:The capital bill has been on the ropes since before the governor unveiled it, so this isn’t really a new revelation, but at least he’s on the record.

A key state lawmaker cast more doubt Monday on the future of a long-sought road and school construction program.

Senate President Emil Jones, D-Chicago, put the chances that a $3.2 billion building program would win General Assembly approval this spring at “maybe 50 percent.”

That assessment is the latest sign that Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s plan likely will be postponed for another year as lawmakers head toward a mid-April, election year adjournment.

Blagojevich has been unable to convince Republicans to support the package, which must be approved by a three-fifths majority of lawmakers in both the House and Senate.

The program would earmark $2.3 billion for road and bridge construction projects, $425 million for mass transit and $500 million to help local school districts replace crumbling schools and add classrooms.