"A candidate’s past margin of victory says nothing about the relative weight of mail-in ballots received after Election Day – and thus the strategic importance of extended poll-watching operations."

Perhaps if the Virginia Burgesses knew they could profit from gambling, sports books wouldn’t have operated under the table for hundreds of years.

Under the Senate’s plan, the Regional Transportation Authority would become the Northern Illinois Transit Authority, a better name than before provided you can get past all the territory in the northern part of the state that would still be on the outside looking in.

There’s no way to fully satisfy either camp, underscoring the importance of making sure government functions adequately for enough voters to strike a balance.

Public voting from mid-January to Valentine’s Day revealed an overwhelming preference for the status quo, with about 43% of almost 385,000 votes opting against any change whatsoever. The current flag fared better than the combined total of the next five choices.

Bringing lawmakers back to Springfield at what might otherwise be a dormant stretch isn’t – or at least shouldn’t be – much cause for concern.

But to hear Harper tell it, the issue isn’t so much inability to reach compromise as unwillingness to negotiate.

"These milestones are a testament to the dedication and commitment of CMS, which has embraced efficiency, innovation and collaboration to improve past hiring challenges."

The current party line is no pursuit of state funding for stadium construction, but even if the Bears don’t directly request money to deal with infrastructure, a development at the proposed scale would force the hands of many government entities.