Illinois State Senate President John Cullerton is proposing a $1 increase in the cigarette tax as a means of financing the state's troubled capital improvement program. The $31 billion program has been deemed unconstitutional by an appellate court because it relies too heavily on other sin taxes. An appeal of that ruling is to be heard before the Illinois Supreme Court. more ›

• Mayor Daley has promised he'll look into reports that as many as one in five CPS teachers change grades.
• Cellist Phillip Blum, "the longest-serving member of the CSO," has passed away.
• WBEZ has an excellent report on the large amounts of money residents of the South Side spend outside of their communities each year and the lengths some are going to to change that trend.