It may be no surprise to some, but new polling shows Barack Obama is doing better with hardcore Illinois primary voters than Hillary Clinton is doing with voters in her own home state of New York. Also, voters are split over whether Obama should be more critical of Chicago corruption, and the Republican presidential primary appears wide-open here.

I was appalled to read your article lauding The Seven Project. (See "The Seven Project Means Hope for Teens," River Cities' Reader Issue 627, April 4-10, 2007.)

This is a church-sponsored program, an evangelical effort of the Assemblies of God church. However, your article (and the resource you quoted) made no mention of that fact.

The evil oil companies are at it again. The price of a gallon of gas has jumped by more than 30 cents in the past month. The gasoline gougers are busy reaping windfall profits.

It's time for a congressional investigation! New legislation must be introduced! The administration must confront corporate thieves!

No, wait. That all happened last summer. Customers blamed gas-station owners and oil producers alike. Politicians moved from somnolence to frenzy at record speed. Officeholders and candidates alike campaigned to stem energy costs.

Editor's note: Prior to press time, the Davenport City Council tabled the appointment of John Nahra and canceled meetings scheduled for April 11 and 12.

Last week, eight Davenport aldermen and the mayor signed what several of them thought was a petition seeking the reorganization of the city legal department that had been drafted nearly a year ago but vetoed twice by the mayor. Following the petition - less than a week later - the demotion of sitting corporation counsel Mary Thee (without a formal performance review), a revision of the ordinance governing the council's supervisory purview of the legal department, and the hiring of retired Judge John Nahra to replace Thee were all on the table for a special council meeting scheduled for Tuesday, April 10, at 5 p.m. The administrator's office scheduled three special meetings - for Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday - in case Tuesday's meeting did not result in a waiving of the "three readings" requirement for an ordinance change.