* After blasting Democrats for pandering to union interests and attempting to roadblock a deal to bring a Navistar expansion project to DuPage County, along with hundreds of high-paying jobs, Republican gubernatorial candidate Sen. Kirk Dillard has changed his mind…

On Thursday, Dillard sided with a local autism school in opposing the diesel engine research center, “because of the environmental concerns about the project that have come to light.”

“I do not like anything that jeopardizes the environment,” Dillard told the Daily Herald when asked about his change of heart on Navistar. “I always will err on the side of the health of local residents.” […]

“I got autoworker friends as well,” Dillard said in a Senate floor speech on Oct. 30. “But that’s something that ought to be at the negotiation table between Navistar and that particular union. And we should not keep, especially with a ten-and-a-half percent unemployment rate, jobs that pay $60,000, $80,000, $100,000 from coming to Illinois.

“And I would hope that when we come back in January, we’ll be able to have those hundreds of Navistar jobs, the kind of jobs, manufacturing jobs - wouldn’t that be unique here in Illinois? - that we have been hemorrhaging so that you all can pander to the labor unions,” Dillard said during debate.

Rival GOP contender Bob Schillerstrom blasted away via press release…

“Senator Dillard is playing politics with thousands of jobs, and illustrating why employers steer clear of Illinois in the process. I have personally worked with Navistar and local governments in the area for many months to make this relocation a reality, and bring 1,000 good, out-of-state jobs to our region. The project would be the biggest influx of new employees to the state in years and shows what is possible when government works with the private sector to create new jobs.” […]

“This is not Dillard’s first flip-flop, but could prove his most damaging. I encourage the Senator to change his position yet again, and work with us to deliver these important jobs to Illinois.”

* I forgot to post this earlier, but Dock Walls has dropped out of the Democratic gubernatorial primary and Ed Scanlan was removed from the ballot. Walls’ petitions were challenged by Gov. Quinn’s allies and Scanlan’s were challenged by the Dan Hynes campaign.

* From the Tribune editorial board debate, Republican US Senate candidate Patrick Hughes talks about his horrifically low poll numbers, his many policy differences with frontrunner Mark Kirk, how he intends to be competitive, Kirk’s vote on the Iraq surge, the Left’s move away from Kirk, Don & Roma’s fawning ways and Kirk’s wooing of Sarah Palin, among other things. Have a look…

The full video is here.

Speaking of former Gov. Palin, she’s finally taken notice of Kirk, at least on her Twitter page…

Appreciate Rep.Mark Kirk’s(Illinois)comments re:Pres Obama not CLOSING Gitmo, merely moving it outside of Chicago!Very,very odd strategy,DC.

And speaking of Hughes, a suburban tea party group is meeting at a country club to endorse the candidate. From a press release…

Illinois’ Tea Party movement has found their candidate for the GOP US Senate primary, and it’s not front-runner Congressman Mark Kirk, it’s attorney Patrick Hughes. On January 5, 2010 the Will County Tea Party Alliance is holding a “Stop Mark Kirk” rally at the Woodbine Country Club in Homer Glen, IL.

* Moving on to an Illinois legislative race, Congressman Mike Quigley has endorsed in the 18th House District Democratic primary. From a press release…

Community leader Jeff Smith picked up two significant endorsements in the hotly-contested Democratic primary for State Representative in the 18th District, winning the approval of the State Board of the Independent Voters of Illinois-Independent Precinct Organization (”IVI-IPO”), and the endorsement of Congressman Mike Quigley (D-5th). […]

“In the 18th District race, Jeff has an unmatched lifetime record of fighting for real political change. He was speaking out about TIF reform long before it was headline news. He shares my commitment to green jobs and a new energy economy, and sees the big environmental picture as few in politics do. For a candidate with real vision of how to clean up and green up Illinois, look no farther than Jeff Smith.”

Smith was also endorsed today by the Illinois Sierra Club. He is up against several opponents, including longtime activist and well-known Statehouse denizen Robyn Gaebel, the only female in the race to replace Rep. Julie Hamos, who is running for Congress.

* Speaking of legislative races, former Sen. Steve Rauschenberger has some ideas about balancing the budget…

Steve Rauschenberger, a former state senator and a budget expert, said it would require, among other things, cutting school spending and switching to a voucher system, reducing the number of prison inmates by one-quarter, trimming higher education and overhauling Medicaid from top to bottom.

“Any candidate who doesn’t talk frankly about major changes … I don’t think is being realistic,” Rauschenberger said. “You can’t balance this budget simply by looking for easy efficiencies or slight reductions in head count.”

Three things…

1) If you don’t raise taxes, he’s far more on target than any other candidate I’ve heard. But that’s still not enough.

2) Rauschenberger is running for his old Senate seat. He will now have to take the heat for those budget cutting proposals, and those mailers will write themselves.

3) Rauschenberger has endorsed Dan Proft for governor. Proft wants to cut the income tax.

* House Speaker Michael Madigan has apparently noticed that there’s a jobs problem in Illinois. From a letter to his members…

to: All House Members
from: Michael J Madigan, Speaker of the House
re: Bipartisan Job Creation Task Force

Today, I am creating a Bipartisan Job Creation Task Force.

Representative Lou Lang will chair this task force.

Task Force members will travel to key labor markets in various parts of the State to hold several hearings on potential legislative job initiatives.

If you are interested in attending the task force meetings, please complete the form and return to Tim Mapes via fax xxx.xxx.xxxx or xxx Capitol Building, Springfield IL 62706 by January 8, 2010.

Rep. Lang claims that this is a “real” task force.

* A second lawsuit has been filed against a new reform law…

There are now two lawsuits pending against a state lobbyist registration law scheduled to take effect Jan. 1, one claiming higher fees amount to a tax on free speech and the other contending the law is unconstitutionally vague.

A lawsuit filed Thursday in circuit court in Sangamon County by the Illinois Society of Association Executives joins an earlier lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union in a federal district court in Chicago.

“There’s a lot of inconsistencies in the law, and it’s very confusing,” said association executive director Pam Tolson. The association represents more than 500 professional and not-for-profit members statewide, many of them based in Springfield. […]

A federal judge in Chicago has scheduled a hearing today on an ACLU request for an order prohibiting the secretary of state’s office from collecting registration fees scheduled to increase to $1,000 on Jan. 1 from the existing $150 to $350.

And the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform’s latest fundraising e-mail touts the “amazing” success of the new campaign reform bill…

A Special Message from The Illinois Campaign for Political Reform

Something amazing happened this month. After a 30-plus-year effort, Illinois finally enacted contribution limits. This is an historic step for reform in Illinois. Even in the perfect storm of corruption and international attention revolving around the impeachment and indictment of Rod Blagojevich, resistance to reform in the General Assembly was extremely strong.

The powerbrokers in Springfield said it would never happen, but people like you proved them wrong. The final product establishes a limit of $5,000 on contributions from individuals each election cycle and $10,000 on contributions from businesses, unions and associations. We also were able to win primary election limits on contributions by parties and legislative leader PACS. In addition, the bill introduces strong new enforcement measures and mandates possibly the best disclosure system in the nation.

To every one of our supporters, we give thanks for what you helped us to accomplish. Of course, there is much more to do. Even the recently passed contribution limits provisions need to be made more comprehensive, and other reforms, like voluntary public financing of state election campaigns, are needed. ICPR will continue its ongoing research of campaign contributions, lobbying practices, the redistricting process and soon will roll out a new website to make it easy for voters learn about candidates and contributors.

But we can only do this with your support.

Please make a special year-end gift to ICPR today. You can make asecure online contribution, or if you prefer you can go here to print off a form you can mail in with your gift. All donations to ICPR are tax deductible.

Paul Simon founded ICPR because he saw the needed for a strong, non-partisan organization to monitor campaign and ethics laws, to conduct independent research about campaign contribution trends and to educate the public about needed reforms.

Paul counseled us to commit to the long haul, recognizing that reform in Illinois is a marathon rather than a sprint. He taught us to savor our victories, while never giving up the fight for good government in Illinois. Soon, his belief that campaign contributions should be limited will become a reality Illinois. Please consider making a contribution to ICPR today, so we can keep up the fight in 2010 to see that Illinois gets the government it deserves.

Considering all the heat that ICPR and others took for cutting this deal, it should be interesting to see how their fundraising base reacts.

* Related…

* Rep. Sara Feigenholtz Endorses State Rep Candidate Ann Williams for John Fritchey’s House Seat

* Top Republicans meet to discuss McKenna-GOP poll

* Senators Righter, Rose endorse Murphy for lieutenant governor: Although Murphy is from the Chicago area, he said endorsements from legislators such as Righter and Rose, indicate that he has earned their respect.

* Cindy Hebda Easily Survives Dem Ballot Challenge in 59th Legislative District in 7-1 Decision

* David Hoffman at the Union League Club Candidate Forum Video

* Senator Toi Hutchinson’s Holiday Greetings Video