* Is there a piece of state legislation floating around that you’d like to see killed? Explain.

* My weekly syndicated newspaper column…
A tense and often confrontational meeting over gambling expansion last week ended with Gov. Pat Quinn being evasive but not explicitly saying “no” to adding slot machines at horse racing tracks.
That m…

* No surprise…
The Supreme Court will not hear a challenge to redistricting in Illinois despite complaints from the League of Women Voters of Illinois that the new congressional and legislative lines are unconstitutional.
The high court on Monday…

*** UPDATE 1 *** I didn’t see this New York Times report which cuts through the spin…
The president and general counsel of the Ending Spending Political Action Fund, Brian Baker, said through a spokesman that the plan was submitted to a g…

* Illinois jobless rate drops but job growth slows
* Ex-Blagojevich aide to serve 10-day federal sentence in McHenry County Jail
* Illinois Senate nixes member of Human Rights Commission over views
* Senate rejects Nation of Islam follower for human ri…

* The following letter to the editor appeared in the State Journal-Register the other day…
This is in response to State Capitol Bureau reporter Doug Finke. He needs to understand the difference between a “perk” and an “earned benefit.”
A …

* Whenever people say they’ll never buy another (fill in the blank) if taxes or fees are increased on that good or service, it’s probably not a good bet to believe them. Yes, it happens sometimes, but Illinois hiked tolls and barely saw an…

* These are valid points…
If proposed Medicaid cuts become a reality, more than 10 percent of the state’s nursing home employees could be out of work, the head of a state nursing home organization said Wednesday.
Pat Comstock, executive directo…

* Two polls show that despite all the media hype and rampant doom and gloom forecasts, Chicago-area residents support hosting the NATO summit this weekend. First up, Tribune…

A total of 59 percent of voters in the six-county metropolitan area a…

* Illinois third in foreclosures despite national improvement
* Illinois Swamped With Foreclosures
* Chuck Sweeny: Casino chances; F-22 problems; memorial service
* Tax on adult clubs approved by Senate committee
* Strip club tax could benefit Illinois…