There is a defect in Illinois' constitution that is so fundamentally fatal that it practically begs voters to approve a state constitutional convention this November.

"In America, the law is King. For as in absolute governments, the King is law, so in free countries the law ought to be king; and there ought to be no other." - Thomas Paine

As usual, the contenders for the White House are making a lot of promises about what they will change if elected. They're singing the siren song all politicians adopt by telling us exactly what we want to hear: reduce taxes, lower gas prices, reform Social Security, and provide us with more and more benefits. In other words, they're going to give us something for our vote - maybe. But reading between the lines, it's what Barack Obama and John McCain aren't saying that should cause voters to pause.

It could be argued that the single most important act of the founders was to provide a sound monetary policy. Money must reflect real value. When a nation's money has no value, and it becomes fiat money, the people lose power; those who control the money control the government and, eventually, all of the country's institutions, including the media.

Senate President Emil Jones began a meeting of his Democratic members not long ago with a playful announcement that despite what everyone had read and heard, he had no intention of retiring from office.

He was joking, of course, but while the joke may have temporarily relieved a bit of tension in the room, there's still plenty of infighting ahead.