The real electoral surprise last week was not in Chicago, where five tired, old incumbent hack aldermen went down to defeat. The big shocker was the Carbondale mayor's race, in which Sheila Simon - the daughter of the late U.S. Senator Paul Simon - was trounced by Republican incumbent Brad Cole.

There are two major tax-increase proposals competing for support in the Illinois General Assembly. You've probably read about both, but you may not know the whole story.

The governor has a huge tax-hike proposal on the agenda. It's called a "gross receipts" tax, and it basically means that every dollar a business brings in the door is subject to taxation without regard for whether the business is actually profitable. (See cover story in this issue.)

Two articles in recent days have shed a little bit more light on the as-yet-unconfirmed plan by Governor Rod Blagojevich to propose a gross-receipts tax on Illinois businesses. The tax would be levied on all corporate revenues, regardless of profitability or existing tax exemptions and loopholes.

Governor Rod Blagojevich has said he wants billions more a year for a universal-health-care plan. Last week, a coalition of business and labor groups called on the state to put $5 billion a year into transportation for five years. The Regional Transportation Authority estimates it needs $57 billion over 30 years to maintain, enhance, and expand transit services.