Taking it easy

With the legislature gone, this week has provided a nice respite at the capitol. No more 16 hour work days. No more staking out leadership meetings on a daily basis. So I've also been taking a little break from the blog.

But before the lawmakers left late Sunday night/early Monday morning, I spoke to several legislators about what they think of the job Pat Quinn has done as governor. While they almost unanimously think he's a hard-working, honest man (I say almost unanimously because I didn't talk to all 177 lawmakers), several think he wasn't ready for the responsibility of the governor's office. Though they also recognize he came into a really difficult situation, despite taking over for the despised Rod Blagojevich.

Native American groups get exemption to smoking ban for religious ceremonies

Lawmakers also recently signed off on an amendment to the state's 17-month-old indoor smoking ban. It's a very limited exemption that applies only to Native American religious ceremonies, since their rituals include smoking ceremonial pipes and smudging -- the burning of prairie grasses or herbs as a cleansing ritual. Native groups have been pushing for this exception since before the smoking ban was enacted. Welcome to the process of getting legislation passed in Springfield. Unless you've got a ton of clout, you're not getting anything passed quickly, not even something as simple as this.