With tens of billions of dollars in unfunded pension liabilities, and after years of dithering about what to do, Illinois credit rating is on the brink of a major downgrade whose net effect will be to add some $100 million to the states interest costs.  Scary thing – Illinois is not alone. http://www.suntimes.com/17800327-761/illinois-bond-rating-sinks-to-worst-in-the-nation.html

Senator So-and-So recommends this person?  Good enough, until Katrina hits or the appointee’s official car runs off the road.  State highway safety director reassigned following revelations of driving violations.

Maureen Dowd captures the Petraeus mess–sad, tragic, even comic, yet real-world, an affair fueled by the same hubris so often center-stage in Washington’s policy games.  Oh, and talk about a crush, I’m ready to pin up Dowd’s writing on my wall.  I don’t always agree with her but passages such as “His fall started with Sophocles . . .” make my knees weak.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/14/opinion/dowd-reputation-reputation-reputation.html?smid=pl-share

So to fund her horse-breeding activities, among other things, this woman stole $53 million from the 16,000 citizens of Dixon, Illinois, where she was comptroller. This equals $3300 from every man, woman and child–some probably distant relatives of Ronald Reagan, a Dixon native.  “What’s wrong with small town financial controls?” you ask.  Better question is “What financial controls?”

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/15/us/former-official-pleads-guilty-to-defrauding-illinois-town-of-53-million.html?smid=pl-share

Another imploding crime lab!  So, again, convictions tied to bad practices will be vacated, and the innocent, as well as the truly guilty, will walk.  Special courts to hear load of cases in drug lab scandal.