Blagojevich intensifies effort to link rival to George Ryan

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – Resurrecting a tactic that helped him win office four years ago, Gov. Rod Blagojevich stepped up efforts Wednesday to link his Republican opponent to the failures of former governor and convicted felon George Ryan.

Blagojevich is running television ads showing Ryan side by side with Republican candidate Judy Baar Topinka. The ads accuse Topinka, the state treasurer, of letting Illinois’ budget deficits and pension debt skyrocket during Ryan’s tenure.

“Topinka didn’t do her job as treasurer and now she wants a promotion? What’s she thinking?” one ad asks.

The Blagojevich campaign also held a news conference to point out that Topinka, who now distances herself from Ryan, once described him as a “damn decent guy” whom she loved dearly.

Topinka called the strategy a sign that Blagojevich is “desperate.”

Motorists not the only ones feeling the squeeze

Soaring oil prices have Illinois farmers digging into their wallets more and road builders wondering if they might have to stop digging soon. And those in the business of finding oil? They’re just digging.

Leon Corzine, the National Corn Growers Association’s chairman, says the gasoline increase is the latest whammy for Illinois farmers, who weathered a similar situation last year when gas prices jumped after hurricanes ravaged the Gulf Coast at harvest time.

“The spikes we’re getting are hitting us at the two prime times we use a lot of fuel,” both during last year’s harvest and this year’s planting, Corzine said.

House OKs bill to ban funeral protests

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – Loud noises, shouting and hateful language on signs would be banned near funeral services under a proposal on its way to Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who says he will sign it.

The Illinois House voted 101-0 Tuesday to approve the ban, which bars protests within a 200-foot zone shortly before, during and shortly after funeral services.

The proposal comes in response to anti-gay protesters at military funerals around the country.

Members of the Westboro Baptist Church, a Topeka, Kan., church led by the Rev. Fred Phelps, say the soldiers were killed because they fought for a country that condones homosexuality. They have shown up at funerals with signs that read “God Hates Fags” or “God Made IEDs,” a reference to roadside bombs.

Compiled by The Associated Press