The most positive thing to come out of last week's umpteenth special legislative session was that Governor Rod Blagojevich didn't call another one for the next day.

I was on a TV show recently and the host asked me what I thought could be done to bring the Democratic leaders of Illinois back from "the brink of the abyss."

Too late, I said. We're already in the abyss, and we've been there for a while.

It could have been worse, I guess.

Now that Governor Rod Blagojevich has unilaterally declared that a previously obscure but always important legislative committee has no real power, things could change radically at the Illinois Statehouse.

Gov. Rod Blagojevich A new statewide poll shows that, given the opportunity, a majority of Illinoisans would vote to recall Governor Rod Blagojevich. But don't get your hopes up.

Dan HynesIllinois Comptroller Dan Hynes is not generally known for his sense of humor.

Privately, in one-on-one situations, Hynes can be engaging, and even funny. Put him in front of a microphone, however, and he's usually stiff as a board.

So, it was a great surprise last week when Comptroller Hynes regaled a Springfield audience with a "fable" that had attendees laughing with glee.

In a move that has probably fatally poisoned an already toxic Illinois Statehouse atmosphere, the wife of House Speaker Michael Madigan's chief of staff was fired from her state job.

A recent statewide poll showed Governor Rod Blagojevich's job approval rating was lower than President George W. Bush's.

As if that isn't astounding in and of itself - that a Democratic governor in a Democratic state would be polling worse than a wildly unpopular lame-duck Republican president - there was even more bad news for the governor when you looked closer.

Blagojevich's political base appears to be deserting him.

In what has to be the most blatantly political budgetary veto in Illinois history, Governor Rod Blagojevich last week ham-handedly attempted to punish his enemies, reward his friends, and entice some members he will need on crucial votes.

Emil Jones In state legislative politics, your word is supposed to be your bond, but that doesn't always happen. Illinois legislators will often tell one person one thing and tell another something completely different. Rank-and-file legislators aren't completely trustworthy.

Legislative leaders, on the other hand, are supposed to be different, particularly when it comes to promises they make to each other. The Senate president, House speaker, and the two minority leaders share a historic bond that is never breached.

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