A few weeks ago, I ran into a fairly high-level Illinois Democrat at a party in Springfield. He said he'd taken my advice and was reading the New York Times' "Disunion" Civil War blog. He also said he'd come to the conclusion that President Barack Obama should follow President Abraham Lincoln's lead by suspending habeas corpus and then arresting all Tea Party-affiliated Republican congressmen.

I couldn't believe what I was hearing, but he said he was dead serious.

I always thought this guy was a centrist, pragmatic sort. But he was obviously caught up in the national meltdown over the debt-ceiling fight. He was furious beyond comprehension. Actually, considering that Congress' job-approval rating is now rapidly approaching zero, his bone-chilling anger is probably comprehensible to a lot of people.

Way back in 1981, Governor Jim Thompson got into a fight with the Illinois General Assembly over who should fund the salaries of county state's attorneys.

By law, Illinois was on the hook for two-thirds of those salaries. Thompson originally proposed paying all of the state's share, then decided that locals should pick up the tab and not the state. The General Assembly negotiated a deal with the governor to pay 80 percent of the required funding. But Thompson turned around and vetoed the entire appropriation.

The state's attorneys all of a sudden weren't getting a paycheck and threatened to sue, county governments were enraged at having this financial hardship dumped on them, and the General Assembly worked itself into an uproar over Thompson's decision to break their deal.

Caught between a rock and a hard place, Thompson made an unprecedented move and simply declared that he'd "unvetoed" the appropriation. Democratic Comptroller Roland Burris announced that he would recognize the "unveto" as legitimate and go ahead and pay the state's attorney salaries.

(This is an updated version of the original article published August 10. The orginal version follows.)

The relevance of this past Saturday's Ames Straw Poll is nothing but a self-fulfilling prophecy.

If a candidate doesn't believe the straw poll important, there's no reason a poor showing matters. Just ask John McCain, whose apathy toward Iowa earned him 10th-place finishes in 1999 and 2007 but didn't stop him from earning his party's presidential nomination in 2008.

If a candidate believes the straw poll important, a performance below expectations can mean the end of a campaign. Just ask Tim Pawlenty, who finished third on Saturday and withdrew the next day. Or Tommy Thompson, who dropped out of the presidential race after finishing sixth in the 2007 straw poll.

For a mix of both, ask Mitt Romney, who won the 2007 straw poll but didn't win the Iowa Caucus or his party's nomination. This year, he's largely skipped Iowa, although he participated in August 11's nationally televised debate from Ames. He finished seventh in Saturday's straw poll, and you should read absolutely nothing into that.

Michele Bachmann certainly hopes that her victory Saturday portends good things for her campaign, but the past indicates that's not a safe bet.

Redistricting is a time for stock-taking, for looking back and looking ahead.

State legislators who've been around a while are suddenly faced with the often stark reality of signing on for another 10 years. They add a decade to their current age and wonder if they want to be in the game that much longer.

Some decide to stick with it for just one more election so they can make extra sure their party holds their seat.

Some decide to retire right away, figuring their party has drawn the map solidly enough to ensure a suitable replacement.

Legislators in the minority party are far more likely to be mapped in with fellow party members and then discover that they don't want to face the prospect of running in a primary, so they retire.

Others decide to use the opportunity to move up the political ladder. The congressional districts were redrawn, which gave state Senator Dave Koehler (D-Peoria) a possible opening. He took it.

If history is any guide, we're likely to see a raft of retirement announcements in the next few days, weeks, months and even years.