I'm almost amazed that the lawmakers are seeing the light on this one - at least partially. One of the bills will hit the pockets of the taxpayers who have access to the mass transit system this bill help help fund! Amazing! And yet - the second half of the equation comes from our collective pocket.

Why didn't the legislature look to a special gasoline tax on those six counties, as well as a special sales tax on all goods and purchases? What insanity is it to tax cigarettes for mass transit - a tax on a practice the governor is trying to wipe out with his ban on smoking, even in private clubs and large chunks of the open air?

Has King Rod been sniffing car exhaust? More likely, jet engine exhaust from a state-owned aircraft.

And what IS it with the ban on smoking in private clubs? That just makes Z E R O sense, since you can't get INTO them without agreeing to its membership policies.

Anyone else noticed that once-packed bars and restaurants are about half empty this past week?

2 mass transit funding bills up for House vote (Chicago Tribune) - SPRINGFIELD—Speaker Michael Madigan predicted the House will pass two mass transit funding solutions Wednesday to help Chicago-area bus and train riders, a move that would pressure Senate President Emil Jones and Gov. Rod Blagojevich to act fast. [King Rod - Yahoo]