The Tribune has a couple of stories today on Barack Obama’s time in the Illinois Senate. One of them, which required the combined efforts of four Trib reporters, breaks almost no new ground. Poker playing buddies, cautious nature, fights with Rickey Hendon and Donne Trotter, blah, blah, blah.

The other looks at pork projects that Obama doled out. Some of it is new info, some of it isn’t.

During his nearly eight years in Springfield, he tucked special earmarks into massive budget bills to shower small bequests on inner city schools, parks and youth service agencies.

But some of the larger grants Obama sponsored were tied to political allies and show how difficult it is even for politicians advocating reform to avoid the appearance of favoritism as they dole out taxpayer funds. Several non-profit directors, for instance, gave money to Obama’s campaigns soon after their allotments were awarded. […]

“It happens that there were major supporters in my district who had been supporters before they got member initiatives,” Obama said, noting that some of his contributors had been his allies for years.

One of those long-time supporters was Rev. Michael Pfleger, the politically active leader of St. Sabina Church. He gave Obama’s campaign $1,500 between 1995 and 2001, including $200 in April 2001, about three months after Obama announced $225,000 in grants to St. Sabina programs.

Also, the Tribune has set up a new web-page devoted to all things Obama. And they have another story today about the Obama campaign’s fight with a would-be disgruntled MySpace entrepreneur.

This is a Barack Obama open thread. How do you think his campaign is going so far?