Hump Day Political News Roundup

Not all political news can be about hogs and nuts, but we'd like to dedicate this edition to our dear friend from the 7th Ward, Bill Beavers, without whom we wouldn't have nearly so much arrogance to write about!

• Bill Beavers told the Sun-Times, in all the elegance and panache he has cultivated over the years, that he is "the hog with the big nuts." Way to stay classy, Bill!
• Protests to budget cuts in Cook County are heating up, with protesters taking to the streets and packing the county building. If the Toddler were serious about balancing the budget, instead of kicking the poor to the curb, he could start by cutting Chinta Strausberg, who makes $110,000 a year. To take notes at meetings.
• The Chicago Park District's former natural resources director, Shirley McMayon, and her co-conspirator John Haas, were sentenced to 34 months and 20 months in prison, respectively, for their roles in a scheme to scam the city for $8 million.
• Blagojevich's lawyers are claiming that two former state workers rigged tests to hire "favored applicants." Blago still doesn't smell too rosy right now....
• Obama is popular with the "entertainment community!"
• Our good friend Rich Miller over at The Capital Fax Blog posed a provocative question yesterday: "Why do you think so many downstaters seem to hate Chicago and don’t consider it part of Illinois? Does racism explain some of it? Backwardsness? Or is it just the natural outgrowth of intense regional conflict over limited resources? Something else?" The responses in the comments section are what we love about blogs — opinionated, thoughtful, and democratic.