The greed that fuels that quest for campaign contributions is as alive today as it ever was.

There [is] little evidence today that Illinois leaders are serious about changing business as usual.

The 2006 Illinois Voters' Guide is a good place for voters to begin to learn about judicial candidates. It includes a primer on the state's court system, a map to help voters identify which candidates will be on their ballot, and several links to web sites where voters can find more information about the candidates, various bar associations, Illinois courts and elections. Most importantly, it contains the information most relevant to voters when they think about what sort of person they want to see on the bench.

They're very cheap to do, so we get more and more and more of them. But I really don't know how many people do more than just hang up on them.

Given the climate right now, naturally, I think all of us are taking a close look at lobbyists and the kind of relationships they have with legislators. There's nothing illegal about this . . . (but) it does raise questions about how cozy these relationships get.

What they showed me today was a great job of having discipline at the plate. They weren't swinging at pitches out of the zone.