ILLINOISTAN? I recently referred to the khanate on Lake Michigan. Now come the editorial writers for the DeKalb Chronicle with Nepotism: a mockery of democracy.

Lipinski, Stroger, Jones. Now, more than ever, Illinois politics is a family business. And by taking such good care of their children, politicians are treating the rest of us like second-class citizens.

Despite those family ties, we're still waiting for a state capital budget. (A spat between the governor and his father-in-law contributes to its delay.) Its absence manifests itself in more frequent Metra delays account deferred maintenance, and in the continuing uncertainty about the classroom building to take the place of Cole Hall.

Despite the failure of these primarily Democratic families to do the state's business, the state's electorate is probably ready to award the state's electoral votes to a scion of Cook Khanate.