While everyone is getting themselves in a tizzy over this Obama Birth Certificate issue, one of the major local political stories continues to be Sen. Durbin's (pictured right) letter to President Bush asking for a commutation of former Governor George Ryan's sentence. While Gov. Blagojevich has already come out in favor of Durbin's request (no surprise as he will probably be facing a similar fate to Ryan's very soon), earlier this week, U.S. Congressman Mark Kirk (Rep.) sent Pres. Bush a letter disputing Durbin's request and State Attorney General Lisa Madigan also said she was opposed to a commuting of Ryan's sentence. more ›