• Gov. Quinn outlined today how he plans to cut $1 billion from the state budget, including job cuts and asking some employees to give up pay raises.
• A violent month is drawing to a close; so far, 225 people have been shot in Chicago in July with 42 of those being deaths.
• A suspicious package found this morning outside Oprah's Harpo Productions, Inc building was proved to be safe.

As Illinois's political leadership struggles to close a daunting hole in the state's budget, the debate over raising taxes versus cutting services brought the governor and legislative leaders to a near standstill. The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities posted an interesting analysis of how different states are coping with decreased revenues in the ongoing economic crisis. They found that many states are looking at a combination of both spending cuts and tax increases to balance state budgets. According to their research, 23 states have raised taxes since the beginning of 2009, and 13 more states are considering tax increases. more ›

• Lynn Sweet reports that President Obama is creating a new White House Office of Olympic, Paralympic and Youth Sport, a move that officials hope might help out Chicago's 2016 bid.
• David Hernandez, the investor with the Chicagosportswebio ordeal who is accused of running a Ponzi scheme, has gone missing according to authorities.
• TOC brings us news of a scheduled reunion among the riot police who were involved in both the 1968 Democratic National Convention and the 1969 Days of Rage.