Most disappointing about President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address Tuesday night was his breathtaking cynicism about Congress, politics and the American people. Perhaps worst of all, the speech demonstrated that Obama lives in a world of self-congratulatory delusion.

Obama’s lack of understanding about root cause and effect makes our union weaker, not stronger. This misunderstanding is what has led the president to believe the prescription for full health for the U.S. is government doing more of the very policies that have failed us in recent years. And not only does the president want the government to do more of the same, but he’s also so confident in government’s abilities that he wants the government to take on even more. Just look at his proposals for government-run child care and “free” community college. There is no aspect of private life that this president does not wish to intrude upon.

Of course, almost none of the proposals from Obama’s address were designed for passage in a Republican-controlled Congress. So why did he raise them? To create a narrative that puts those Republicans once again on defense against the Obama narrative that they hate women, the middle class, young people and anyone who isn’t white.

More than 2,100 former employees in 57 suburbs cost taxpayers almost $16.5 million in health insurance costs last year.

Experts expect that figure to rise steeply as more municipal employees head into retirement before they are eligible for Medicare at age 65. But even then, Medicare eligibility only reduces the municipal tax burden rather than putting an end to it.

On average, the cost to taxpayers in those suburbs was about $7,700 per retiree last year, according to a Daily Herald analysis of the towns’ most recent audits.

The Illinois House chose its leader for 2015-17 last week.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel on Wednesday defended his decision to replace only 5 of the 21 acres of South Side parkland he wants to take for the Obama Presidential Library, if the Obamas choose either Washington Park or Jackson Park.

“Given that the building will deal with 4-to-5 acres, we will replace that, acre-for-acre, and make the open space whole. . . . It’s specific to the building and I think that’s the right way to go,” the mayor said after introducing the land transfer at Wednesday’s City Council meeting.

But the Obamas want a campus surrounding their presidential library and museum. Taking up to 20 acres in Jackson Park and 21 acres in Washington Park — both storied parks designed by famed landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted — would help to create that campus feel.

Chicago motorists routinely slam on the brakes to avoid getting nailed by red-light cameras. Some have caused rear-end collisions while avoiding the dreaded $100 ticket.

That panicky and dangerous behavior could come to a crashing halt, if a pair of aldermen have their way.

Transportation Committee Chairman Anthony Beale (9th) and Economic, Capital and Technology Development Chairman Tom Tunney (44th) want to mandate countdown signals at all 174 Chicago intersections where 352 red-light cameras are installed.

With relations between police and minority communities increasingly volatile, Mayor Rahm Emanuel is announcing today that the city will begin using body cameras to keep track of sometimes contentious interactions.

In a speech during which he unveiled his anti-crime agenda for his second term, the mayor says that a “pilot program” in which some police will have cameras on their person is being implemented immediately.

“We will closely monitor this pilot program, make any necessary adjustments, then work to expand it over the next four years,” Emanuel said in prepared remarks made available to Crain’s. The cameras should “increase the trust between officers and the neighborhood residents they serve.”

Bruce Rauner’s wealth proved to be a double-edged sword on his march to becoming Illinois’ governor, buying top-notch campaign machinery but giving rivals an opening to question his ability to wall off official actions from his interests in a vast investment portfolio.

Just before taking office, Rauner moved to allay any lingering concerns with a vow to “avoid even an appearance of a conflict of interest.” Rauner said he was “establishing specific blind trust procedures during my service as governor to eliminate my day-to-day involvement in any company or issuer in which I hold any security interest or investment.”

Rauner may have invoked the term “blind trust” — a legal instrument establishing an ignorance-is-bliss financial structure when it comes to public officeholders — but he didn’t actually set up one. Nor likely could he have without running afoul of a peculiarity of Illinois ethics law.

A solid majority of Illinoisans want newly inaugurated Gov. Bruce Rauner to find common ground with the Democratic legislative majority rather than be confrontational, a new poll finds. However, most aren’t confident that the state’s leaders can avoid gridlock, and a majority believes the Democrats will be to blame.

“Do you think Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner should try to solve the state’s problems by working to find common ground with the Democratic-controlled legislature, or should he take a more confrontational approach with the Democrats in trying to solve this state’s many problems?” 1,026 registered voters were asked by We Ask America on Jan. 15.

An overwhelming 67 percent said they want Rauner to find common ground, while 22 percent said he should take a more confrontational approach. Another 6 percent said he should do both and 5 percent were unsure.

IF YOU WANT TO KNOW what fuels Americans’ ire with our political class, just look at the hot new idea percolating in Washington and state capitals: Raise taxes on gasoline! Thanks to a stronger dollar and burgeoning oil inventories, gas prices have plummeted. The typical family may save $550 or more this year, money they can now spend on other necessities or things they enjoy. Winter heating bills will be lower. Should this trend last, auto and truck manufacturers will get a big break: People will buy bigger vehicles, which is where the juicy profit margins are.

So how do our politicians react to this good news? They make it yet another opportunity to pick people’s pockets. What’s ghastly about this is that a number of Republicans, at all levels of government, are buying into this gaseous idea. We all know that liberals never pass up an opportunity to grab more money, but the GOP is supposed to be the taxpayers’ friend.

An exasperated Larry Kudlow let loose at Senator Bob Corker (R–Tenn.), who is proposing to hike the federal gas and diesel tax by 12 cents a gallon over two years: