Birth, death, life: Personal reflection on rebooting Illinois

BIRTH, DEATH, LIFE, REBOOTING "Last fall, I told my mom I was worried about Illinois. I told her I was going to take a leap of faith, leave my beloved Daily Herald and try to do something about it... I don’t know how much of all that my mom followed as she neared the end of her days here. But she smiled at me and told me I seemed happy and excited." Madeleine Doubek joined Reboot Illinois a year ago and gets introspective on her one-year anniversary. It's a year that saw her saying goodbye to her mother and hello to new members of her family, all while getting Reboot Illinois off the ground. That's quite a year! Read about it here.

GEARING UP Four of Illinois' biggest public employee unions have put more than $500,000 into the campaign accounts of lawmakers who opposed House Speaker Michael Madigan's pension reform bill -- a bill the unions despised. It's part of an effort to rally support for a labor-friendly pension reform bill as pension reform, again, becomes Issue No. 1 in Springfield. David Ormsby of The Illinois Observer breaks down who's giving what to whom and why in this post. 

"EMPTY NOGGINS" Blogger and Chicago Tribune op-ed contributor Dennis Byrne is among the more outspoken and entertaining voices in the Illinois conservative blogosphere. His reaction to Senate President John Cullerton's statement this week that the pension crisis isn't really a crisis is a prime example of that outspokenness in action: "Cullerton's assertion is a rare look into the empty noggins of the folks responsible for this mess..." There's plenty more. Even if you disagree, Byrne's vitriol makes a good read, and we've got it here.

ADM: TO STAY OR GO? Archer Daniels Midland is the biggest company in Illinois. Does it deserve tax breaks to keep its top executives in Illinois? There's a hearing on that topic today in Springfield. Check out our handy timeline of this issue and decide for yourself. Click here for all the ADM background.

BLAST FROM THE PENSION PAST Chicago Tribune cartoonist Scott Stantis has assembled quite a portfolio of pension-related cartoons. This one, which came out during the spring legislative session, is one of the best. And it remains amazingly timely and accurate. Click to see the whole thing.

AROUND THE STATE A new week brings a new batch of Illinois news. Here's the best:

• 5. Bruce Rauner’s "outsider" stance is amusing to one of his GOP opponents. (Chicago Tribune)
  4. Contrary to what John Cullerton is saying, Pat Quinn says the pension crisis is an “extreme emergency.” (Associated Press)
  3. Opinion: Legislators are likely to ignore pensions during the fall session with elections looming. (Pantagraph)
  2. Rahm Emanuel is using a “boatload of ways” to try to balance the city’s budget. (Chicago Tribune)
  1. A Daily Herald analysis reveals that sin taxes aren’t as profitable as they used to be. (Daily Herald)