Governor Rod Blagojevich and his staff have attempted to muddy the waters on the question of that now-infamous $1,500 check from his friend by seizing on the flip-flopping of the friend's wife, Beverly Ascaridis.

Mrs. Ascaridis, you will recall, got a state job about the same time that her husband, Mike Ascaridis, wrote the governor a check for $1,500. The governor has admitted to directing his chief of staff to find Mrs. Ascaridis a job, but claims that the check was for his daughter Amy's college fund. He has so far refused to provide any supporting documentation that the check was ever deposited into a college fund, however.

This 600th issue marks the Reader's 14th year in publication. My husband, Todd McGreevy, and I founded this paper for several important reasons: to stimulate alternative viewpoints from those in the mainstream media; to disseminate relevant, truthful, well-researched information conveyed through intelligent writing; to expose Quad Citians to the community's vibrant arts culture populated by individuals and groups with plenty of energy and talent; to provide the area's most comprehensive calendar of events as a resource for both patrons and venues to inspire connectivity; to offer advertisers the opportunity to reach a loyal, educated, and economically active consumer group that defines our exceptional readership; and finally to provide meaningful, productive, and lucrative employment opportunities that creatively engage individuals in the vital mission of conveying need-to-know information in a collaborative environment.

If you think Governor Rod Blagojevich gets bad press now, imagine how harsh the coverage would be if we knew what he was hiding.

For instance, we know from sources that the governor's own office and his various agencies have been served with dozens of federal subpoenas involving countless criminal allegations, but Governor Blagojevich won't even confirm receiving a subpoena. He won't say how many subpoenas he's received. He won't say what the FBI is looking for.

Attorney General Lisa Madigan is supposed to issue a legal opinion on whether the governor has to comply with reporters' Freedom of Information Act requests on the subpoenas. As of this writing, though, her office has been silent.

I am writing this letter on behalf of the many retired teachers in Illinois and those who plan to retire. We have an election in November for governor, as well as some representatives and senators. It is imperative that we know where these candidates stand in regard to the recent under-funding and diversions of funds for the teacher retirement pension systems.