Lou Lang to Tribune: Read the constitution! Quinn's budget gets watchdog group's seal of approval -and a warning: Your Reboot Illinois Daily Tip-Off

TEMPERS FLARE State Rep. Lou Lang, D-Skokie, has had it with the Chicago Tribune's attitude on pension reform. "It's about time that the Chicago Tribune's editorial board stop treating the Illinois Constitution like yesterday's newspaper," Lang writes in an op-ed piece in, of all places, the Chicago Tribune. Lang was among the "no" votes May 2 on House Speaker Michael Madigan's comprehensive pension reform bill, which passed 62-51. He resents being labeled part of the "do-nothing caucus" in a Tribune editorial. Though Lang generally is among the gun control supporters in the legislature, he fires both barrels at the Tribune. "While the Tribune editorial board may elect to write nonsense while ignoring the Illinois Constitution and to insult the integrity of legislators, lawmakers are elected to do the hard work of voting for bills they consider constitutionally worthy." We've got a link and summary in our Daily Tip-Off section.

THE $62.4 BILLION SHOESTRING Gov. Pat Quinn's proposed budget cuts $400 million from education and scrapes up $454 million for paying back bills by ending some tax breaks. The Civic Federation's Institute for Illinois' Fiscal Sustainability likes it. But with a caveat: “This budget is overwhelmingly constrained by the State’s pension costs,” said Civic Federation President Laurence Msall. “A long-range plan to substantially reduce these unaffordable costs is the only way to protect essential services for Illinois residents while keeping our public employee pension funds solvent.” Here's more.

KEEPING PRESSURE ON The Civic Federation believes disaster awaits if the General Assembly adjourns this month without passing comprehensive pension reform. We agree. If you do, sign our pension petition and help keep the pressure on our lawmakers. Click here!

COMING OR GOING? We're fascinated by two contrasting reports from two moving companies. U-Haul International says Chicago was the third most popular destination for people moving themselves in 2012. But United Van Lines reported that Illinois was second only to New Jersey in people heading out for other states. What gives? We've got a few unscientific theories.

FORGET THE LAWSUITS Any pension reform bill, no matter how carefully crafted and agreed upon, is going to end up in court, says the Illinois Policy Institute's Scott Reeder. So the General Assembly needs to quit fussing about which plan can avoid a lawsuit and start focusing on which one saves the state from financial Armageddon. "The question worth asking is: What do we want to be the test case to go before the Illinois Supreme Court?" Reeder explains here. He's got a valid point.

SUCCESS STORIES Chicago City Treasurer Stephanie Neely probably will think twice before using her city-assigned police escort as a post-workout chauffeur. That's one of the Better Government Association success stories highlighted in this week's column by BGA President Andy Shaw. There's more here.

DAILY TIP-OFF While Lou Lang berates the Tribune on its own pages, Crain's Chicago Business political columnist Greg Hinz takes Illinois Republicans to task for voting like they're Democrats when it comes to pension reform. "When it comes to money—and knowing how to count—the GOP is more trustworthy, right? I'm beginning to wonder," writes Hinz. That's how Hinz tees it up for a big swing at Illinois Republicans who found many convenient excuses to vote against a strong pension reform bill that passed the Illinois House on May 2.

Hinz spent last week tracking down some of the "no" voters and he tallies their interesting excuses ("that was taken care of in 1995") in his column.

The Associated Press gives its rundown of the Civic Federation study referenced above. And, of course, you do not want to miss Lou Lang's takedown of the Tribune's editorial page. He concludes: "Unless the Tribune reverts to its rich tradition of responsible, respectful and thoughtful journalism, its influence on Illinois public policy will continue to erode further and its opinions will be as useful as yesterday's news."

We've been following newspapers' reaction to the pension debate, and it looks like Lang will have a lot more such op-eds to write in papers throughout Illinois.

Find links to these and other Illinois news stories in our Daily Tip-Off section.

CAMPAIGN 2014 In case you missed it, a new We Ask America poll Friday labeled Gov. Pat Quinn the "walking dead" due to a disapproval rating of 62 percent. It heads up our running Campaign 2014 scorecard. Click the sign to see more.