The Senate ethics committee has "admonished" Senator Roland Burris for all the lies that he's handed them in his testimony over his involvement in disgraced and impeached Governor Rod Blagojevich's pay-to-play scandal in Illinois.

As Blago was making his last pass around the drain over his countless illegal activities as Illinois Governor he appointed Roland Burris to the Senate seat that Obama left behind when he won the 2008 general election for the big seat in Washington.

Burris claimed, of course, that he played no part in the cash for a senate seat scandal. The truth, though, seems to be a bit different than the gauzy world that Burris inhabits.

Ed Morrissey gave us a nice, succinct set of bullet points to flesh out what Burris did to deserve this admionishment:

• Burris lied to the Illinois legislature about speaking to Blago’s brother Robert, and then lied about why he lied
• Burris lied about agreeing to raise funds for Blagojevich while discussing appointment
• Burris covered up a solicitation for $10,000 from Blago’s brother
• Burris covered up his promise to cut a check for $1500 to Blago

…yeah, seems to me he deserves a bit more than a mild rebuke to me, too!

Republican gubernatorial candidate Bill Brady announced his education plans for the state of Illinois. Below is an excerpt:

My plan to reform education in Illinois starts with a clean break from the rigid educational structure of today with the elimination of the State Board of Education. Doing so will give local school officials, teachers and parents a greater voice in the operation of their local schools. I will restructure our educational bureaucracy by creating a streamlined, efficient and smaller department truly accountable to the Governor and thereby the people of Illinois. This downsized department under the Governor will administer the financial disbursement of resources, helping school districts in a way that will ensure more dollars go to the classroom and not to educational administration expense. The Brady plan for greater parental involvement and greater student achievement includes:

• Eliminating the cap on charter schools in Illinois, allowing an unlimited number of charter schools to operate in Illinois at any given time. Doing away with the cap would also lift the geographic constraints currently imposed on charter schools. Current legislation limits the number of charter schools to 120 at one time -- 70 in Chicago, 45 for the rest of the state and 5 devoted to re-enrolled high school drop-outs.

• Increasing tuition tax credits by 50 percent a year. As it stands now, an eligible Illinois household can receive a maximum $500 in education expense tax credits a year. * · Empowering school boards by action or parents by referendum to open their school district to vouchers, allowing state tax dollars to follow the student. The voucher would be at a minimum level equal to the pupil state support of that school district.

• Allowing every high school student in Illinois the opportunity to achieve in their high school years a two-year associate degree through cooperative efforts between the state's 49 community college districts and regional offices of education. This would ensure students graduate with a better education and more prepared to pursue a higher education in a four-year institution or enter the workforce.

For far too long, our state has fallen behind nationally and internationally," said Brady. "We have graduated students, in many cases, with a subpar education and a lack of skills needed for the workplace today. We can accelerate our students' chance at success with a program that integrates our secondary schools and our community colleges. I unveiled the plan this morning at the Chicago International Charter School's West Belden Campus, a K-8th grade institution in Chicago's Austin-Belmont-Cragin neighborhood. West Belden is a shining example of the educational opportunities Illinois children need and deserve. My plan also includes preservation of the home school system. 
As Governor, I will continue to ensure that parents who decide to school their children at home remain independent of state oversight and free of any bureaucratic requirements. I will do all I can to make Illinois the strongest supported home school state in the nation.

All Republican members of Illinois' Congressional Delegation have signed the following letter to President Obama:

Dear Mr. President:

According to the Chicago Tribune, your Administration may transfer up to 200 Al Qaeda terrorists from their detention facility in Guantanamo Bay a prison in Thomson, Illinois, 150 miles from Chicago.

If your Administration brings Al Qaeda terrorists to Illinois, our state and the Chicago Metropolitan Area will become ground zero for Jihadist terrorist plots, recruitment and radicalization.

Furthermore, since Thomson is located in the Northern District of Illinois, any civilian prosecution of Al Qaeda terrorists would occur in Rockford or downtown Chicago.

As home to America's tallest building, we should not invite Al Qaeda to make Illinois its number one target.

The United States spent more than $50 million to build the Guantanamo Bay detention facility to keep terrorists away from U.S. soil. Al Qaeda terrorists should stay where they cannot endanger American citizens.

As elected officials in the State of Illinois, we urge you to put the safety and security of Illinois families first and stop any plan to transfer Al Qaeda terrorists to our state.

Rep. Peter Roskam
Rep. Mark Kirk
Rep. Judy Biggert
Rep. Tim Johnson
Rep. Don Manzullo
Rep. Aaron Schock
Rep. John Shimkus

Statement from Congressman Peter Roskam on the disclosure this morning from Democrat Senate Candidate Alexi Giannoulias that he received a National Security Council (NSC) briefing on possibly moving Guantanamo to Illinois:

“Given Mr. Giannoulias’ disclosure that he received a NSC briefing on possibly moving Guantanamo to Illinois, I urge the Obama Administration to eschew the increasingly political nature of this situation. Moving terrorists to Illinois will have tremendous security and economic implications, and now this situation has been tainted by the appearance of political favoritism given that a Democrat U.S. Senate candidate received a NSC briefing while elected Members of Congress have not. The people of Illinois will be best served by a process that forgoes the behind-closed-doors political approach and instead provides for open and transparent consideration.”

Background:

“Most importantly I had a chance to talk to the National Security Council folks.” – Senate Candidate Alexi Giannoulias (WLS 890 AM’s “Don Wade and Roma Show”, 11/20/2009)

The full audio of the interview can be found at the link below.

(6:30 mark)

Roma: “Have you been briefed on this by the White House or since you are a state constitutional officer has Governor Quinn briefed you?

Giannoulias: “We’ve spoken to their offices, I’ve gotten some packets of paper, and I’ve read them. Most importantly I had a chance to talk to the National Security Council folks.”

(3:50 mark)

Giannoulias: “I’ve had a chance to talk to some folks on the National Security Council and they’ve told me that today, in this country federal prisons securely house approximately 350 inmates already including 35 already in Illinois and the U.S. military has demonstrated the ability to house those inmates, so I’ve heard some facts from them.”

CLICK HERE for audio.

When you go to the polls February 2, 2010, and request a "Republican" ballot, here's the ballot order you'll see -- as determined by an Illinois State Board of Elections drawing earlier this week:

For US Senate, the GOP ballot starting at the top:

• Donald (Don) Lowery
• Mark Steven Kirk
• Andy Martin
• Kathleen Thomas
• John Arrington
• Patrick Hughes
• Robert L. "Bob" Zadek (an objection pending)
• Thomas (Tom) Kuna (an objection pending)

• Kirk W. Dillard
• Bill Brady
• Robert J. "Bob" Schillerstrom
• Adam Andrzejewski
• Dan Proft
• Jim Ryan
• Andy McKenna

• Don Tracy
• Jason Plummer
• Randy A. White, Sr.
• Brad Cole
• Matt Murphy
• Dennis W. Cook

(As reported by Illinois Review, always a great Illinois resource.)

The TAPROOT Foundation will host a forum for Republican candidates for lieutenant governor Saturday morning in the north meeting room of the Old Country Buffet at 551 East Roosevelt Road in Lombard.

Candidates attending are Brad Cole, Dennis Cook, Jason Plummer, Don Tracy, and Randy White. Matt Murphy has sent a letter to be read.

The program runs from 8:30 am- 10 am. No RSVP is required, but attendees will need to purchase an all-you-can-eat meal ticket for only $5.99.