* John Kass apparently agrees with Michael Sneed that Bill Daley is serious about running for governor…

Illinois Gov. William Daley.

Get used to it. Because he wants it. And he’s reaching for it.

“I’ve thought about it before and I don’t take it off the table,” Daley told me in an interview on WLS-AM 890 on Wednesday as he sat for an hour talking national and local politics. “I think right now, to be very frank with you, the last thing in the world anybody wants to hear about is a race that’s two years down the road.” […]

“I’m not closing the door and, I know that sounds like a politician, but the fact of the matter is that these are tough days and I think there’s a lot to be done by the (state) Legislature. I don’t think it helps right now for people to be out there saying they’re going to run and they have a solution at this point. I think we’ve got to see what the Legislature does.”

And then he methodically discussed how state government, all but bankrupt under a crushing multimillion-dollar debt from unfunded pension liabilities for public workers, could deal with the red ink drowning the state. He said that each side has to give. Republicans have to give on taxes, Democrats on compelling the unions and others to pay more of the freight. Daley said a compromise wouldn’t work unless each side took actions that could cost them in the election.

I found these to be serious words offered by a serious man.

Bill Daley has been talking about running for governor since at least 1999. I kinda fell for his game three years ago. So, I’ll believe it when I actually see it.

The power of an incumbent governor during a primary is pretty significant. Just ask Dan Hynes.

Not to mention that the Daley brand is old and wilted.

…Adding… Greg Hinz…

Mr. Daley, the brother of former Mayor Richard M. Daley, sure has been acting like a candidate. He’s been booked to talk to the City Club of Chicago on Dec. 20 — a good sign of a pol who wants to raise his profile. He’s releasing a new report on state schools in a few days. And he told Chicago Tribune columnist John Kass this morning that the gubernatorial option is on the table.

But Mr. Daley made similar moves a few years ago, then backed off at the last minute. If incumbent Pat Quinn decides to run again, is Mr. Daley reallllly willing to go through what could be an extraordinarily nasty primary battle with him for the rights to battle the GOP nominee in what might well be a Republican year?

* Meanwhile, Gov. Pat Quinn was asked yesterday whether he’s planning to run again…

“I’m the governor,” Quinn said with a giggle. “We don’t plan to change the title.”

* And then there’s this challenge…

For Democrats flush with power, there are pitfalls ahead. Madigan and Cullerton can now render the governor’s veto power meaningless. Already, lawmakers and Quinn have clashed over casino expansion, with the governor using his veto despite Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s support for the measure.

Quinn, who indicated Wednesday that he plans to run again, said he did “not at all” see a downside or a threat to his own power.

They can only render Quinn’s veto power “meaningless” in the House if they hold every single Democrat (not always easy) or pick up some GOP votes. But the two chambers have a decent record of overriding vetoes already. The governor totally vetoed 8 bills in 2011. The GA overrode three.

He’s not totally irrelevant. But he is less relevant than he was, particularly in the Senate. He needs to be aware of the pitfalls, and he often isn’t.

* And he might want to tone down his optimism…

Quinn said Wednesday that the new majority will allow for what he calls progressive and overdue policies. […]

Quinn reiterated his call for legislators to tackle the state’s pension system, which is the worst funded in the country.

A lot of those new Democrats aren’t all that liberal. And some of them don’t particularly care for his pension reform ideas.

…Adding… Good point from Chris Mooney…

Exultation might be the natural reaction after unleashing such a blistering conquest. But all those new lawmakers will have their own agendas, making party cohesion more difficult. And Mooney said they pose other problems, particularly in setting an agenda that voters in distinct legislative districts will support in the next election.

“It’s unlikely they’re going to just cram through something crazy,” Mooney said. “One, it’s hard to get everybody on board, and even if they did, they’re going to pay for it down the road.”