TODAY in the news

NOT GONNA HAPPEN
To his credit, Scott Walker has refused to meet privately with the leader of the 14 Democrat senators who fled the state to avoid discussion and vote on the budget. Senate Minority Leader Mark Miller (D-Monona) wanted to meet the governor near the Wisconsin-Illinois border.
(Makes you wonder if they brought back bags of cash from Illinois they hoped to deliver. They could have driven to other states with a better reputation than Illinois which would have given their flight at least a semblance of principled respectability. But Illinois???!!!)

CHICAGOLAND never changes
The Watchdogs at the Chicago Sun-Times had to go to court to get the names.
City Hall hired 139 ex-cons in two years
Among them was Robert Sorich, Mayor Daley's patronage chief who was convicted in 2006 of overseeing an illegal hiring scheme that gave city jobs and promotions to people with clout. Another new hire is an ex-con who was convicted in the 1970s shooting of two police (After serving time for the officer shootings, he worked for the city as a taxicab inspector until he was convicted in 1988 and served two more years for aggravated battery.)

CHICAGOLAND mortgage fraud
The media might not be following the story, the Mortgage Fraud Blog does.
Illinois Experiences Mortgage Fraud Risk Increase
Chicago zip code 60621, which has been the most risky zip code in the United States for three consecutive quarters. Over those three quarters, the overall risk in the Chicago MSA has increased dramatically, from “moderate risk” in Q2 2010 to “very high risk” in this quarter.

Story is based on Interthinx report.
Neighborhood Link has information on zip code 60621 including Demogaphics.

A good place for the Flee Baggers from Wisconsin to hide out
After a Chicago Tribune story, Dolton Mayor Ronnie Lewis has slashed a proposed contract for a firm headed by his daughter, Angelique Lewis, from more than $1 million to $1. [UPDATE: the final contract was approved and was for $2 a year. Three of the six trustees boycotted the meeting. Despite protests, they will, of course, vote the next time for Democrats.]
Dolton, Illinois, is in Cook County. It is in the 2nd Congressional District that is represented by Jesse Jackson, Jr. The former Representative was Mel Reynolds was convicted on 12 counts of sexual assault, obstruction of justice and solicitation of child pornography. Sentenced to five years in prison, he was convicted on 15 unrelated counts of bank fraud and lying to SEC investigators. After serving 42 months in prison for the later charges, his bank fraud sentence was commuted by Bill Clinton.

FEDERAL DEFICIT
Washington Times on the deficit. Government posts biggest monthly deficit ever: It marks the 29th straight month the government has run in the red.

CBO director on the deficit in his blog. Four Observations about the Federal Budget in the director's blog post today.

VIDEO RELEASED
A new video of the 9/11 attack taken from a NY police department helicopter was released after a Freedom of Information request. Story The video runs 17 minutes.