* Take some time this afternoon and watch Gov. Pat Quinn try to answer questions from reporters about the pay raises he’s doled out to his top staff…

The man certainly likes to filibuster.

* The governor isn’t even getting props from a retailer who would directly benefit from his back to school sales tax holiday law…

The sales tax holiday on school supplies and clothing — signed into law Wednesday by Gov. Pat Quinn and set for 10 days starting Aug. 6 — should be a welcome boon for Skip Kanosky, owner of one of the area’s two education supplies stores.

But it’s not.

Despite the governor’s hope that waiving the state’s 5 percent portion of sales tax will boost consumer shopping, Kanosky — who owns The Learning Tree in Bradley — reacted to the news Thursday with a little more than a yawn.

“In Illinois?” he asked. “We can afford that?”

Yikes, man.

* If you’d like to place a small wager on your general election predictions, then by all means click here. You don’t have to plunk anything down to participate, but you can’t win any cash that way, either.

* Congressman Jesse Jackson, Jr. has been dodging reporters all week about revelations about how he may have participated in a discussion about funneling a million dollars to Rod Blagojevich’s campaign fund in exchange for a US Senate seat appointment. He has finally put out a press release…

“My office has received many requests for comment in response to bits of evidence offered and proffered during the ongoing Blagojevich trial. As much as I would like to clear up the misstatements made by some, and clarify my role (really my non-role) in this affair, obviously it would be inappropriate for me to do so until the trial is over. It is appropriate, however, to emphasize what has long been in the public record: I have cooperated and will continue to cooperate with all government entities investigating this matter, and I have never been advised that I am a target of this investigation. Most important, I was never part of any improper scheme with Blagojevich or anyone else related to securing the vacant Illinois senate seat.”

I’d sure like to see him do a press conference.

* Speaking of press conferences, Congressman Mark Kirk’s Springfield presser apparently didn’t go too well today…

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — Senate candidate Mark Kirk says he is done answering questions about exaggerating his military accomplishments.

Several times this week, Kirk has refused to answer questions about specific incidents during his 21 years in the Navy Reserve. He said Friday that he’ll let his official fitness reports speak for him from now on.

Those reports include glowing evaluations but offer no details on specific incidents — such as whether he came under fire while serving in Afghanistan, as he once claimed.

*** UPDATE *** I forgot to mention Sen. Dan Rutherford’s quite solid fundraising during the first six months of the year. Check it out. The GOP treasurer nominee raised almost half a million dollars, loaned himself another $200K and had more than a million dollars cash on hand. Very strong numbers for a down-ballot statewide candidate. If you forced me to make a “Pick to Click” for November, it’d probably be Rutherford.

* Other stuff…

* Carl Officer: Racism behind challenges to his campaign, other black Senate candidates

* Kirk stands by vote against unemployment benefits