The only two restraints—at least for now—on public union governance in Illinois are GOP Gov. Bruce Rauner and the state’s flat income tax. Democrats hope to do away with both in November.

Democrats in Springfield have filed three constitutional amendments to establish a graduated income tax—the rates won’t be determined until after voters give their assent. The state’s flat 4.95% income tax, believe it or not, is lower than the rate in all its neighbors save Indiana (3.23%). But its property and corporate taxes are among the highest in the country.

Public anger over what their elected officials have done to this state remains high.

Public opinion polls represent snapshots in time that are subject to change as events unfold. But the people of Illinois have been remarkably consistent in recent years when responding to one particular question:

Is Illinois headed in the right direction or the wrong direction?

There’s a new movement in Springfield, the Time’s Up When We Say So Defensive Fund. It’s founder and champion is Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan.

Time’s up when we say so on getting an inspector general. Three years of inaction allowed 27 sexual harassment complaints to pile up. Madigan finally said it was time. It was coincidence that it came after 160 people signed an open letter exposing the inaction.

One of the federal government’s top lawyers on Friday urged the Supreme Court not to hear Rod Blagojevich’s case, ripping the disgraced ex-governor’s latest Hail-Mary appeal effort as “unwarranted” and “without merit”

Solicitor General Noel John Francisco filed a 34-page brief shooting down last November’s appeal, in which Blagojevich’s attorneys argued the nation’s top court should settle questions over whether prosecutors must prove a public official made an “explicit promise or undertaking” in exchange for campaign contributions.

With a push from Democratic gubernatorial hopeful Chris Kennedy, a proposed tax on non-Illinois residents who earn income working in this state may be picking up new momentum in Springfield.

Kennedy included the proposed levy, which he dubbed the “Florida tax,” in the infrastructure plan he released earlier in the week, saying one way to help pay for the roads, bridges and other projects the state needs is to “tax people who live out of state but earn income in Illinois.” But even though the tax proposal was buried in the fine print of the infrastructure plan, aides say he’s serious about the proposal, because he’s learned from his own experience that Illinois is a lot more generous with non-resident road warriors than other states are to Illinoisans.

The Cook County treasurer’s office unveils a massive list of properties this weekend ahead of a May auction for investors to buy unpaid property taxes from delinquent property owners.

A partial list of the more than 52,000 properties is being released in Sunday’s Chicago Sun-Times to notify property owners they could lose their land and buildings if they don’t pay their taxes.

On Feb. 8, Robyn Palmersheim had to get new tires for the third time in two years because of a blowout caused by hitting a pothole on Chicago’s streets.

“It was a significant hole in the street,” Palmersheim, 45, an education administrator from North Center, says of the pothole she hit in the 1700 block of North Western Avenue. “It was like there were two of them side by side. As soon as I hit it, I was, like, ‘Oh, something’s wrong.’ ”