http://blogs.e-rockford.com/inchambers The judge will see you now. Step into Springfield Bureau Chief Aaron Chambers’ chambers for an insider’s view on Illinois politics and government. No, Chambers isn’t a real judge. At least not in the sense of wearing a robe, wielding a gavel and issuing orders. But like a good judge, Chambers tells it like it is.The magistrate also will see you. Andrea Zimmermann, the Register Star's Statehouse intern, is a regular contributor to this blog. Fri, 16 May 2008 20:45:05 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Illinois judges are on a roll: Almost without exception, any Illinois judge arrested for DUI refuses to take a breath test. Many also refuse the field sobriety test. From the AP, via the Daily Chronicle: TINLEY PARK, Ill. - A Cook County judge is expected to appear in court next month on ... http://blogs.e-rockford.com/inchambers/2008/05/16/yet-another-judge-refuses-to-blow/ The New York Times today covered Gov. Rod Blagojevich and the Rezko cloud over his career in a story it called "Corruption Case Taints Rising Political Star": Blagojevich at the U of I in 2006 When the trial began two months ago, national attention focused on how Senator Barack Obama of Illinois ... http://blogs.e-rockford.com/inchambers/2008/05/12/the-times-parachutes-in-profiles-blagos-rezko-problem/ Rep. Dave Winters, R-Shirland, recently made what struck me as a remarkable observation about the politics of race and leadership in the General Assembly. In response, Rep. Chuck Jefferson, D-Rockford, provided some insight into how he sees those powerful, yet delicate, dynamics. Jefferson I was talking to Winters about the status ... http://blogs.e-rockford.com/inchambers/2008/05/09/winters-jones-sees-jefferson-as-black-first-madigans-guy-second/ Rep. Chuck Jefferson on Wednesday pitched Rockford’s truancy plan to a panel of lawmakers, but he appeared to miss the mark when describing Rockford's existing anti-truancy program. Mayor Larry Morrissey's plan would allow the city to fine the parents of children under the age of 13 — to encourage those parents, ... http://blogs.e-rockford.com/inchambers/2008/05/08/rep-jefferson-what-truancy-officers/ Senate Minority Leader Frank Watson on Wednesday said this year’s legislative session is likely to stretch well into the summer. "I don’t see us getting more done in the next four weeks than we've done in the last five months," Watson said during the Illinois Business Day luncheon in Springfield. "I ... http://blogs.e-rockford.com/inchambers/2008/05/07/republican-leaders-discuss-budget-battles-with-business-groups/ What is it with some men in politics and their fixation on testes? First it was Gov. Rod Blagojevich saying he had the "testicular virility"to fend off the influence of his father-in-law, a ward boss from Chicago's North Side who was Blagojevich's political mentor. "This is the kind of thing that I ... http://blogs.e-rockford.com/inchambers/2008/05/07/the-political-power-of-testes/ As of this writing, the price of a gallon of unleaded gasoline in Rockford was $3.70 a gallon. In St. Louis, it was $3.60. You might wonder why I bring up St. Louis' gas prices, aside from the 10-cent difference. That's because I grew up just across the river from Missouri's ... http://blogs.e-rockford.com/inchambers/2008/05/07/gop-gas-tax-bill-stalled-as-prices-continue-rising/ Gov. Rod Blagojevich's determination to unilaterally expand state-subsidized health care, despite the fact that lawmakers repeatedly rejected his plan and refused to provide funding for it, has prompted quite the debacle. His administration claims it can't easily differentiate between costs associated with his unilateral expansion of FamilyCare -- a move recently ... http://blogs.e-rockford.com/inchambers/2008/05/07/the-states-health-care-trainwreck/ Continuing to raise his profile while traveling Illinois, state Comptroller Dan Hynes on Monday slammed Gov. Rod Blagojevich for reportedly threatening to cut higher education funding. Blagojevich has said the state has a $750 million deficit in the budget ending June 30, and his aides have said a number of programs ... http://blogs.e-rockford.com/inchambers/2008/05/06/hynes-throws-another-jab-at-blago/ Try as he might to unilaterally expand the availability of state-subsidized health care, Gov. Rod Blagojevich is pushing his program forward with one step forward, two steps back. Blagojevich kicked off spring session last year by calling on lawmakers to approve his version of universal health care backed by the largest ... http://blogs.e-rockford.com/inchambers/2008/05/05/two-steps-back-for-health-care-push/