Michael MadiganHouse Speaker Michael Madigan told a firefighters group last week that he, Governor Rod Blagojevich, and Senate President Emil Jones are engaged in a "civil war," and that "no prisoners" are being taken.

This isn't exactly a fresh insight.

It's difficult to take seriously last week's House vote to establish a recall provision in Illinois' state Constitution. An amendment to the constitutional provision passed the other day with 80 votes - a pretty solid majority.

The tiny minority who opposed the amendment pointed out that the proposal could cause all sorts of problems.

I get questions all the time, so here are a few answers ... .

 

 

A new statewide poll confirms what most of us knew anyway. If Barack Obama is the Democratic presidential nominee, he will do a whole lot better in Illinois against Republican John McCain than will Hillary Clinton. But there's more to it than that.

 

In early 2006, Governor Rod Blagojevich faced a firestorm of criticism from Jewish leaders for his appointment of Louis Farrakhan's "minister of protocol" to the Illinois Hate Crimes Commission. Several Jewish members resigned from the commission in protest of Sister Claudette Marie Muhammad's appointment, but Blagojevich refused to back down and claimed he didn't know who she was when he put her on the commission.

Sam Zell, the owner of the Tribune Company, is fast becoming Public Enemy Number One.

Normally, a tax hike would be the last thing that state legislators would consider in an election year. Tax increases are usually approved in "off years" to give voters time to forget before they vote. So, you'd think that a large income-tax increase in Springfield would be the last thing being considered.

The 2008 general election is almost nine months away, but you don't have to listen too closely to hear some of the first shots of the 2010 governor's race being fired.

There could be some loud fireworks the next time the Illinois Senate Democrats meet behind closed doors.

Governor Rod Blagojevich "It's been anticlimactic," sighed a top House Democratic operative last week when asked about some of the Chicago-area primary races.

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