* My latest syndicated newspaper column takes a look at last week’s special session. After documenting how almost no state Senators showed up and just 70 House members made it to town, I looked at the immediate aftermath and the possibility that Gov. Blagojevich could call yet another special session…

One never knows what will go through the governor’s mind at a time like this. A couple of stray electrons in his brain could bump into each other and set off an uncontrollable chain reaction that his staff and top advisers are helpless to stop. So Statehouse types waited around for a signal about what Blagojevich might do next. Several had come to town prepared for the long haul, bringing enough clothes to get them through the weekend.

Thankfully, sanity finally prevailed. Or maybe it was presidential politics.

One of the reasons so many Democrats, particularly in the Senate, weren’t in town last week was because they were in Iowa campaigning for their former legislative colleague, U.S. Sen. Barack Obama. If the governor had called another special session for Thursday - Iowa Caucus Day - and harangued lawmakers into showing up, he could have been accused of sabotaging Obama’s campaign.

So instead of calling yet another fruitless, futile and politically dangerous special session, the governor cut his losses and went home. Considering the miserable legislative turnout, he probably spent more on his flight back and forth to Springfield and his Chicago press conference than the General Assembly spent on per diems. In the end, last Wednesday was simply an expensive media opportunity for one of the biggest publicity hounds in Illinois history.

* Kurt Erickson saw signs of hope emerge from the special session…

The entire thing was a misstep, but it bears mentioning that something positive did emerge from the wasted day: The governor did not call any more special sessions.

Maybe he’s learning. That would be good.

I wouldn’t bet on that. Here’s something I wrote back in 2005…

The creators of the TV sitcom Seinfeld kept a sign above their desks that read, in part, “NO LESSONS LEARNED.” The idea was that the characters were not supposed to “grow” in the way characters do on most other TV shows — and in real life, for that matter.

Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld might want to make a pilgrimage to Illinois soon, because their brilliant idea has been playing out here for more than two years now.

The governor never learns. He never grows.

The sign also read: “NO HUGS.” Appropriate.

* This is a whopper of a lede…

State Rep. Jay Hoffman’s New Year’s resolution is an ambitious one, given the tenor of Illinois government these days: “I’m trying to not point fingers, and stop the blame game,” the Collinsville Democrat said Friday.

Hoffman is Gov. Blagojevich’s House floor leader. He’s been one of the prime motivators behind the ongoing legislative feud. If he’s telling the truth, he’s gonna have to walk back his behavior a very long way.

Hoffman is a good guy and well-liked, but this past year didn’t do much for his Statehouse reputation. He’d be better off as a go-between or a mediator instead of an enabler. He’s become an extension of the governor’s office on the House floor, and he’s lost his credibility.

* Quote of the week, from Finke…

Blagojevich last week denied he’s Public Official A, the person who keeps appearing in federal indictments and other court documents dealing with people allegedly involved in corruption in the administration. He also referred to the federal investigations as “tangential, collateral things that have no relevance to people …”

OK, but investigators keep saying there’s a Public Official A, and the guess here is that people want to know who that is. Perhaps Blagojevich can pull an O.J. Simpson and conduct his own search for the real culprit, the real Public Official A. Then we can all move on from “tangential, collateral things.”

* More stuff, compiled by Paul…

* Kruesi on CTA: Don’t blame me

* CTA Tattler: Blame Blago and here’s his final chance

* Editorial: The gas guzzling governor

* McQueary: Time for second string long overdue

* Martire: Let’s start over and see some legislative results in 2008

* Opinion: Gambling no solution to state’s problems