Bloomberg endorses Daley; guns an issue for 2014?

2014: BLOOMBERG ENDORSES DALEY New York Mayor and staunch gun-control advocate Michael Bloomberg has endorsed Bill Daley in his run for governor. In a video announcement, Bloomberg praises Daley for several things, but focuses heavily on his gun control stance. Bloomberg's Independence USA super PAC put $2 million into supporting Robin Kelly in her successful bid to succeed Jesse Jackson Jr. in Congress. Will he invest as heavily in the Illinois governor's race? Will this widen the Chicago-downstate divide among voters? Click here for that discussion and Bloomberg's video.

POLL: NAME TROUBLE FOR MADIGAN, DALEY? A new poll by the conservative Americas PAC shows Lisa Madigan and Bill Brady with leads in their respective primary contests (if Madigan seeks the Democratic nomination for governor). But voters have some reservations about the family connections of Madigan and Democratic candidate Bill Daley. And with controversy today over Gov. Pat Quinn's amendatory veto of a concealed carry firearms bill, the poll's findings on voter attitudes toward gun control are timely. We break down the survey's main findings.

QUINN'S CONCEALED WEAPON Gov. Pat Quinn doesn't need a permit for the weapon he's wielding in today's cartoon from the Chicago Tribune's Scott Stantis.

MR. WHITLEY'S OPUS Illinois Chamber of Commerce CEO Doug Whitley has watched the Illinois public pension system's problems grow from minor concern in the '80s to the full-blown crisis it has become today. He's got a broader, deeper perspective on how it happened and its economic consequences than just about anyone working in and around state government. He holds nothing back in his message to Chamber members about the urgency of the situation and his suggestions for fixing it. It's long but very compelling and definitely worth reading. Find it here.

DEMAND REFORM The General Assembly is expected to return to Springfield next week for another special session on pensions. A special conference committee of lawmakers meets today in Chicago in another effort to hammer out a compromise. There is no more important issue in Illinois government today than fixing the pension problem. Our economic recovery depends on it. Help us get that message to our leaders in Springfield. Click here to sign on to our effort and see an infographic on the making of the pension crisis.

TOP 5  You can always find links to the day's news from around Illinois in the Daily Tip-Off section of our website. Here are today's top picks:

• 5. Local School Councils from more than 30 schools have joined a new coalition that publicly rejected draft budgets from Chicago Public Schools, calling them inadequate to pay for the education Chicago’s children deserve (Chicago Sun-Times)
• 4. A legislative committee working to forge a compromise on Illinois' $97 billion pension crisis is holding its second public hearing (Associated Press)
• 3. Six companies may shed a combined 1,149 jobs in coming months, according to the June edition of Illinois' Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, or WARN, report (Crain’s Chicago Business)
• 2. Politicians in Springfield and Washington always talk about how much they like small business and how it's "America's job-growth engine." But their regulations are clogging that engine (Chicago Tribune)
• 1. Only in Illinois could you end the fiscal year with $6.1 billion in red ink and have it be considered good news. (Peoria Journal Star)