* If you haven’t yet, you ought to read Bernie Schoenburg’s interview of retiring state Sen. Larry Bomke (R-Springfield). The last half of the story is about Bomke’s impressions of the four governors he’s worked with over the years. For example…

Bomke thinks that Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn is “just a really nice guy.”

“When he does things … he honestly believes what he is doing is not in his selfish interest, but in the best interest of the state,” Bomke said. Still, Bomke said of Quinn, “I don’t think that he understands the process well enough to get things done.

“We almost need a Jim Edgar/George Ryan clone combination,” Bomke said, “George Ryan, who knew the politics, and Jim Edgar, who understood government.”

It’s hard to disagree with that.

…Adding… I forgot to include this nugget from the Kankakee Daily Journal…

Former Illinois Gov. George Ryan could be released from federal prison at any time, according to Federal Bureau of Prison spokesman Chris Burke, and it’s even possible he could go directly to his Kankakee home.

However, Burke said it is extremely rare for a federal inmate to go directly from federal prison to home.

“Almost every inmate released spends at least a short amount of time in a halfway house,” Burke said

And this one…

Imprisoned Governor George Ryan has yet again been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.

University of Illinois College of Law Professor Francis A. Boyle nominated the retired governor first in 2003, following Ryan’s landmark decision to commute all death sentences in Illinois to life in prison. The nominations have continued annually since then.