Lawyers for Rod Blagojevich told reporters last week that there might be a delay in the former governor's criminal trial when a federal grand jury, as expected, hands down a new indictment. But they also stressed that they were working hard to keep the trial on track for its June start date.

As I write this, the U.S. attorney's office in Chicago is hoping to re-indict Blagojevich to make sure its criminal case isn't damaged by an upcoming U.S. Supreme Court ruling on the federal "honest services" statute. The brief statute has been used by federal prosecutors for years to prosecute politicians and corporate executives on a wide variety of charges, claiming they defrauded citizens, investors, etc. via "a scheme or artifice to deprive another of the intangible right of honest services."

"The Governor, at the beginning of each annual session of the General Assembly and at the close of his term of office, shall report to the General Assembly on the condition of the State and recommend such measures as he deems desirable." - Illinois Constitution

I don't know if Governor Pat Quinn glanced at the state Constitution before he jotted down his notes, but the rambled, jumbled, disjointed mess he delivered off the cuff last week was not a State of the State address.

According to two recent polls taken by Rasmussen Reports and one by the Chicago Tribune, Governor Pat Quinn has a detectable and significant problem with women voters, but a new development in the campaign might help the governor overcome this gender gap.

Rasmussen recently matched Republican gubernatorial frontrunner Jim Ryan against Democrats Quinn and Comptroller Dan Hynes. Ryan outpolled Quinn by seven points (46-39), but the former Republican attorney general trailed Hynes by two points (40-42).

What's going on? Well, the poll's internals show a stark difference among women voters. Ryan leads Quinn 45-36 among women, but Hynes reverses the result and leads Ryan 42-32 with women. That's a huge difference, but it seems to hold up when compared to other recent polling.

Last week we all celebrated -- or bemoaned -- the first anniversary of Rod Blagojevich's arrest. After Blagojevich was impeached and removed from office, I, like most others, thought that things were going to be different with Pat Quinn in charge.

But the Statehouse bickering continues and the gridlock over the state's paralyzing and mind-boggling budget deficit is almost as bad as ever. Heck, it may even be worse.