Comptroller Judy Baar Topinka’s untimely death last week exposed a flaw in the state constitution and election law. It turns out neither is particularly clear about what happens under the unique circumstances surrounding Topinka’s passing — someone elected to office who dies before taking that office. http://www.sj-r.com/article/20141213/NEWS/141219788/10511/NEWS

The company — which says its goal is to work with officials to change old laws that its executives argue don’t apply to a phone-app-based service — has carried out this approach repeatedly in cities and states across the country over the past year. http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/uber-pressures-regulators-by-mobilizing-riders-and-hiring-vast-lobbying-network/2014/12/13/3f4395c6-7f2a-11e4-9f38-95a187e4c1f7_story.html

Rauner called the plan to use $650 million borrowed from Special State Funds for FY2015 General Funds operations “fundamentally wrong.” He critiqued the practice, known as interfund borrowing, due to the requirement to pay back the funds over the next 18 months and the gap it creates in the FY2016 budget. http://www.civicfed.org/iifs/blog/governor-elect-rauner-critiques-interfund-borrowing

http://ethics.harvard.edu/blog/measuring-illegal-and-legal-corruption-american-states-some-results-safra