* The transportation funding lockbox amendment overwhelmingly prevailed in every Illinois county, despite lots and lots of harsh editorials and columnists who regularly rail on the General Assembly for an inability to do its job. Well, the lockbox amendment does the job for legislators and that seemed abundantly clear to fed-up voters.

And now we’re stuck with it.

* Meanwhile, Donald Trump won McHenry County by 8 points. Mark Kirk won it by 10. Democratic state Rep. Jack Franks won the county board chairman’s race by 15 points. Franks represents only about a third of that county in the House. Say what you want about him, but the man knows how to win.

* This was a waste of a million dollars by asbestos trial lawyers…

Despite efforts to derail the Republican Fifth District Appellate Court candidates’ campaigns with lawyer-funded attack ads, the Republican candidates are leading by roughly 10 percent margins with 99 percent of the precincts reporting.

For the vacancy created through the retirement of Bruce Stewart, Madison County Circuit Judge John Barberis is leading with a margin of 55 percent to 45 percent. Barberis has received 305,727 votes, while Williamson County Circuit Judge Brad Bleyer has received 238,255 votes.

I don’t know who did their TV ad, but this was just silly from the get-go…

If they’d just given me that money I would’ve absolutely guaranteed them the same end results. /s

* Speaking of that part of the world…

Republican Ron Duebbert has been elected circuit judge in the Twentieth Judicial Circuit, defeating Democrat incumbent, Chief Judge John Baricevic.

That’s a huge GOP win. The Baricevic family had a very bad night.

* And while we’re in the formerly Democratic-dominated Metro East…

In a squeaker of a race, Republican Kurt Prenzler beat Democrat Alan Dunstan for chairmanship of Madison County government.

Prenzler is a tea party favorite, won the county treasurer’s office four years ago and ran on a platform of lowering taxes.

* What else is out there?