The Illinois Supreme Court has rejected an appeal on a ruling striking terms limit off the ballot. Comment: Over 500,000 signatures supported the widely popular ballot initiative, but when Madigan and his Cook County friends initiate a legal challenge as they did here, they win in Illinois. http://politics.suntimes.com/article/springfield/illinois-supreme-court-rejects-rauners-term-limits-appeal/fri-08222014-350pm

http://politics.suntimes.com/article/springfield/ex-idot-boss-blames-govs-office-majority-improper-hires/fri-082http://politics.http://politics.suntimes.com/article/springfield/ex-idot-boss-blames-govs-office-majority-improper-hires/fri-08222014-204pmsuntimes.com/article/springfield/ex-idot-boss-blames-govs-office-majority-improper-hires/fri-08222014-204pm22014-204pm

Smelling blood after the astonishing Kanerva decision in their favor, unions now want a quick kill on pension reform generally. http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/08/22/usa-illinois-pensions-idUSL2N0QS10520140822

Quest’s $3.6 million investment will bring 28 jobs, with another 28 employees and $1.5 million in additional investment expected within the next three years. via Illinois-based Quest Products moving to Pleasant Prairie.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/editorials/ct-fracking-jobs-illinois-edit-0822-20140821-story.html

Wonderful little video about who is helped by the recent Harris v. Quinn decision from the U.S. Supreme Court. Free to care

Illinois’ flooding issues are widespread, and come in many forms: river flooding, urban street flooding and basement backups. http://www.rebootillinois.com/2014/08/22/editors-picks/pete-mulvaney/stem-flooding-tides-next-governor-must-find-new-answers/23664/?utm_medium=social&utm_content=@mdoubekrebootil&utm_source=twitter

Quinn failed to rein in patronage abuses at the state transportation agency after replacing now-imprisoned Rod Blagojevich, and Quinn’s directors repeatedly hired politically connected workers in violation of the rules, the state’s top ethics investigator found. http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-idot-patronage-0822-20140822-story.html

By: Mark Glennon   If you have any genuine interest in understanding Illinois employment numbers, the must-read work comes from somebody who is not a traditional journalist — Mike Lucci, a young man at the Illinois Policy Institute. His most recent update, published this week, is linked here, and you should read the whole thing to get a true sense of what’s going on with jobs in Illinois. The widely reported unemployment rate has become virtually meaningless because it has been distorted by workers dropping out of the labor force, leaving Illinois and working part time. Lucci sorts that out